elevated plus maze comes up often in conversation and rarely with the context attached. Here we lay out the basics in order, then work through the practical considerations.
Last reviewed on 2026-03-11. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Published clinical work is concentrated in Russian-language journals and generally involves small samples without independent replication. Systematic reviews in English note the shortage of randomised, placebo-controlled trials and the difficulty of verifying methods from translated reports. Outcome measures vary between studies, which complicates pooling of results. Interest in the compound as a cognitive or anxiolytic agent therefore rests on a thinner evidence base than the volume of citations suggests. Replication in well-powered trials with preregistered endpoints would be needed before firm conclusions about efficacy can be drawn.
Proposed mechanisms centre on the GABAergic system. Animal and tissue studies report changes in GABA-A receptor expression and reduced activity of GABA transaminase, the enzyme that degrades GABA. Effects on monoamine turnover, including serotonin and dopamine pathways, are also described, and a separate line of work links the peptide to increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in hippocampal tissue. Most of these findings come from rodent models and cell preparations. How the individual observations combine into a single coherent mode of action is not settled.
Pharmacokinetic data are sparse and largely derived from animal work. After intranasal administration the peptide appears in plasma within minutes, and reported half-lives are short, on the order of minutes to tens of minutes. Degradation proceeds through ordinary proteolytic cleavage into constituent amino acids and smaller fragments. Direct evidence that intact Selank reaches brain tissue in meaningful amounts is limited, and the extent of blood-brain barrier penetration is debated. Some authors argue that fragments, not the parent peptide, carry much of the observed activity.
Naming conventions place Selank in the same research family as Semax, another Russian-developed peptide investigated for cognitive effects. The two compounds share a lineage but differ in sequence and in the biological systems proposed as their targets. Semax descends from ACTH fragments, whereas Selank descends from tuftsin. Publications sometimes identify Selank by its full peptide sequence or by laboratory codes rather than one uniform trade name. Because replication outside Russia is limited, reports on its properties are best read alongside the study design and the purity of the material tested.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia during the 1990s. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences designed it as a stabilized analog of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. The compound has been studied primarily for its reported anxiolytic and nootropic effects. It remains largely unknown in Western pharmacology and is not approved as a medicine by major regulators such as the FDA or the EMA.
The primary structure of Selank is Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, corresponding to the molecular formula C33H57N11O9 and a monoisotopic mass of roughly 751.9 daltons. The N-terminal threonine and the arginine residue in the fourth position are shared with tuftsin, which carries the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg. The three additional residues at the C-terminus, Pro-Gly-Pro, extend the chain and are associated with greater resistance to enzymatic degradation. This extension also separates Selank from the shorter parent peptide.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary route studied | Intranasal | Also examined parenterally in animal work |
| Reported plasma half-life | Minutes to tens of minutes | Values vary widely between reports |
| Main model systems | Rodent behavioural and cell assays | Human trials are few and small |
| Principal proposed targets | GABA-A receptor, GABA transaminase | Monoamine and neurotrophic pathways also reported |
| Evidence grade | Preliminary | Limited independent replication |
Laboratory work relies on standard behavioral paradigms. Rodents are tested in the elevated plus maze, open field, and passive avoidance tasks, with outcomes compared against diazepam or vehicle controls. Intranasal dosing is used most often because it bypasses first-pass metabolism, though intraperitoneal and intravenous routes also appear in published protocols. Biochemical endpoints include tissue BDNF concentrations, cytokine levels, and monoamine metabolites. Human data are limited to small Russian trials reporting reduced anxiety scores; most were not prospectively registered, and few employed independent outcome assessment.
Measuring peptide exposure inside the brain is technically difficult. Selank is degraded rapidly in plasma, and assays must separate intact peptide from fragments, which favors targeted mass spectrometry over immunoassays alone. Reported half-lives are short, on the order of minutes, so effects observed hours later are attributed to downstream signaling rather than to the parent compound. Blood-brain barrier permeability is debated and rarely quantified directly. Gaps include absent dose-response characterization, inconsistent reporting of purity, and almost no pharmacokinetic data from human participants.
Selank is studied chiefly as an animal-model anxiolytic with proposed secondary effects on memory and immune signaling. Reported mechanisms include modulation of the GABA-A receptor complex, inhibition of enkephalin-degrading enzymes, and shifts in monoamine turnover within limbic structures. Some experiments describe increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus after repeated dosing. No single molecular target has been confirmed, and the peptide does not bind any receptor with the selectivity typical of a conventional small-molecule drug. Mechanism therefore remains a set of hypotheses rather than an established pathway.
Clinical evidence comes mainly from small studies conducted in Russia, several of which were open-label or lacked robust blinding. Reported outcomes include lower anxiety scores, changes in attention measures, and effects on asthenic states following illness. Sample sizes are typically in the tens of participants, and independent replication outside the region is scarce. Reviews published in English generally note the limited methodological quality of the underlying trials. Whether the compound produces clinically meaningful effects under rigorous conditions remains unresolved.
Proposed mechanisms center on modulation of the GABA system, but no single molecular target has been confirmed. Rodent studies report changes in GABA-A receptor expression and in the turnover of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in several brain regions. Increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor have also been described after repeated administration. These findings come largely from animal models, and the degree to which they describe human neurochemistry remains an open question. The mechanism is best characterized as multi-system and not fully resolved.
Outside its country of origin the compound is generally handled as a research chemical rather than an approved medicine. No regulatory approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency has been granted for human use. Identity and purity are normally checked by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, with mass spectrometry used to confirm the molecular mass. Lyophilised material is stored cold and desiccated, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided.
Published work on this peptide almost always uses intranasal delivery, with drops or a spray applied to the nasal mucosa. Some animal experiments have used subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injection, and a smaller number have compared routes directly. Oral administration is not a focus of the literature, because short peptides of this size are broken down by digestive enzymes and cross intestinal barriers poorly. How much of an intranasal dose reaches the bloodstream intact in humans remains an open question.
Peptide bonds are vulnerable to protease attack, and Selank is no exception. Measured half-life in serum is short, on the order of minutes in several reports, which explains why intranasal administration is the common route described in the literature. Absorption across the nasal mucosa partially bypasses first-pass hepatic metabolism. Quantitative data on human bioavailability remain limited and are difficult to compare across studies.
Lyophilised material kept dry at minus 20 degrees Celsius or colder is the most stable form, and suppliers commonly state a shelf life of two years or more under those conditions. Once dissolved, degradation accelerates through hydrolysis and deamidation, particularly at alkaline pH or elevated temperature. Working solutions are usually divided into single-use aliquots to avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The choice of reconstitution solvent affects both stability and the ionic strength of the final preparation.
Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection near 214 nanometres is the standard purity method. Mass spectrometry, typically electrospray ionisation, confirms identity through the expected mass-to-charge pattern. Amino acid analysis can verify composition independently. Chiral purity requires separate techniques such as derivatisation followed by chromatographic separation, and such data are rarely reported for research-grade material.
A white blood cell differential is a medical laboratory test that provides information about the types and amounts of white blood cells in a person's blood. The test, which is usually ordered as part of a complete blood count (CBC), measures the amounts of the five normal white blood cell types – neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils and basophils – as well as abnormal cell types if they are present. These results are reported as percentages and absolute values, and compared against reference ranges to determine whether the values are normal, low, or high. Changes in the amounts of white blood cells can aid in the diagnosis of many health conditions, including viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections and blood disorders such as leukaemia. White blood cell differentials may be performed by an automated analyzer – a machine designed to run laboratory tests – or manually, by examining blood smears under a microscope. The test was performed manually until white blood cell differential analyzers were introduced in the 1970s, making the automated differential possible. In the automated differential, a blood sample is loaded onto an analyzer, which samples a small volume of blood and measures various properties of white blood cells to produce a differential count. The manual differential, in which white blood cells are counted on a stained microscope slide, is now performed to investigate abnormal results from the automated differential, or upon request by the healthcare provider.
Researchers in biochemistry use specific techniques native to biochemistry (for instance, enzyme kinetics or subcellular fractionation), but increasingly combine these with techniques and ideas developed in the fields of genetics, molecular biology, and biophysics. There is not a defined line between these disciplines. Biochemistry studies the chemistry required for biological activity of molecules, molecular biology studies those molecules' biological activity, and genetics studies their heredity, which happens to be carried by their genome. This is shown in the following schematic that depicts one possible view of the relationships between the fields:
==== Preventive measures ==== In August 2010, Purdue Pharma reformulated their long-acting oxycodone line, marketed as OxyContin, using a polymer, Intac, to make the pills more difficult to crush or dissolve in water to reduce non-medical use of OxyContin. Inactive ingredients/excipients are butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), hypromellose, polyethylene glycol 400, polyethylene oxide, magnesium stearate, and titanium dioxide. The FDA approved relabeling the reformulated version as abuse-resistant in April 2013. Pfizer manufactures a preparation of short-acting oxycodone, marketed as Oxecta, which contains inactive ingredients, referred to as tamper-resistant Aversion Technology. Approved by the FDA in the U.S. in June 2011, the new formulation, while not being able to deter oral recreational use, makes crushing, chewing, snorting, or injecting the opioid impractical because of a change in its chemical properties.
== External links == Clinical trial number NCT02257567 for "A Study of Polatuzumab Vedotin (DCDS4501A) in Combination With Rituximab or Obinutuzumab Plus Bendamustine in Participants With Relapsed or Refractory Follicular or Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma" at ClinicalTrials.gov Clinical trial number NCT03274492 for "A Study Comparing the Efficacy and Safety of Polatuzumab Vedotin With Rituximab-Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, and Prednisone (R-CHP) Versus Rituximab-Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, and Prednisone (R-CHOP) in Participants With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (POLARIX)" at ClinicalTrials.gov
Serotonin, in addition, evokes endothelial nitric oxide synthase activation and stimulates, through a 5-HT1B receptor-mediated mechanism, the phosphorylation of p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein kinase activation in bovine aortic endothelial cell cultures. In blood, serotonin is collected from plasma by platelets, which store it. It is thus active wherever platelets bind in damaged tissue, as a vasoconstrictor to stop bleeding, and also as a fibrocyte mitotic (growth factor), to aid healing.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
There are many synonyms in informal registers for human feces. Many are euphemistic, colloquial, or both; some are profane (such as shit), whereas most belong chiefly to child-directed speech (such as poo or poop) or to crude humor (such as turd). An example of an euphemistic term for feces is number two.
=== Eyes === A rare development is amyloid purpura, a susceptibility to bleeding with bruising around the eyes, termed "raccoon-eyes". Amyloid purpura is caused by amyloid deposition in the blood vessels and reduced activity of thrombin and factor X, two clotting proteins that lose their function after binding with amyloid.
In human anatomy, the vitreous body (from Latin vitreus 'glassy') is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eye (the vitreous chamber) in humans and other vertebrates. It is often referred to as the vitreous humor (also spelled humour, from Latin meaning 'liquid'), or simply "the vitreous". Vitreous fluid or "liquid vitreous" is the liquid component of the vitreous gel, found after a vitreous detachment. It is not to be confused with the aqueous humor, the other fluid in the eye that is found between the cornea and lens.
The latter may be involved in the effectiveness of propranolol in the treatment of migraine at high doses. (–)-Propranolol is not a silent antagonist of the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor but is instead a very weak partial agonist of the receptor. Both enantiomers of propranolol have a local anesthetic (topical) effect, which is normally mediated by blockade of voltage-gated sodium channels. Studies have demonstrated propranolol's ability to block cardiac, neuronal, and skeletal voltage-gated sodium channels, accounting for its known membrane stabilizing effect and antiarrhythmic and other central nervous system effects.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The character was introduced during the serial's 2019 season finale, which saw several characters held hostage at gunpoint in the local hospital. Kipa-Williams explained that Ari's boss sends him to the hospital after he sustains a cut to his arm while working on a construction site. Shortly after Ari arrives, armed men from the Ouroboros gang take everyone on that floor hostage. When the hostages are rounded up, Ari is forced to sit next to "a terrified" Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons), who he instantly tries to help and reassure. Kipa-Williams told Rachel Lucas of What's on TV: "Ari comes from a past where he's not unfamiliar with bad guys. He's relatively calm, he's very aware and he's strategizing a way to get the hostages – or himself – out." Knowing that they need to gain "control of the situation", Ari teams up with Mason Morgan (Orpheus Pledger) and they devise an escape plan. Ari leads most of the hostages out of the building, while Mason tries to distract the gunmen, which results in his death when he is shot. Kipa-Williams likened the filming of the storyline to a feature film, saying "We spent quite a number of days in the hospital set and at the exterior of the hospital so my first few days filming were quite intense. It was a really nice welcome!" The actor was also grateful that he shared his first scenes with Symons. After the scenes aired, it was confirmed that Ari's family would soon be introduced and that they would be hiding some secrets. The Paratas later move in with Marilyn and her husband John Palmer (Shane Withington).
=== Private and public key generation === A cryptocurrency wallet works by random number being generated. The number is converted to a private key using the specific requirements of the cryptocurrency. A public key is then generated from the private key. This private key is used by the owner to access and send cryptocurrency, while the public key can be shared to any third party to receive cryptocurrency. Up to this stage no computer or electronic device is required and all key pairs can be mathematically derived and written down by hand. The private key and public key pair (known as an address) are not known by the blockchain or anyone else. The blockchain will only record the transaction of the public address when cryptocurrency is sent to it, thus recording in the blockchain ledger the transaction of the public address.
=== 3: Primary Active Transporters === 3.A: P-P-bond-hydrolysis-driven transporters (a.k.a. ATP-driven pumps, or transport ATPases): ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC transporter), such as MDR, CFTR V-type ATPase; ( "V" related to vacuolar ). P-type ATPase; ( "P" related to phosphorylation), such as: Na+/K+-ATPase Plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase Proton pump F-type ATPase; ("F" related to factor), including: mitochondrial ATP synthase, chloroplast ATP synthase1 3.B: Decarboxylation-driven transporters 3.C: Methyltransfer-driven transporters 3.D: Oxidoreduction-driven transporters 3.E: Light absorption-driven transporters, such as rhodopsin
GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on APC-Associated Polyposis Conditions OMIM entries on APC-Associated Polyposis Conditions[link removed] Adenomatous+Polyposis+Coli+Protein at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) GeneCard Database concerning peer-reviewed reports on cancer critical alteration in several genes including (APC (protein)), (TP53), (Beta-catenin|β-catenin) Human APC genome location and APC gene details page in the UCSC Genome Browser.
Most neptunium (and plutonium) now encountered in the environment is due to atmospheric nuclear explosions that took place between the detonation of the first atomic bomb in 1945 and the ratification of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. The total amount of neptunium released by these explosions and the few atmospheric tests that have been carried out since 1963 is estimated to be around 2500 kg. The overwhelming majority of this is composed of the long-lived isotopes 236Np and 237Np since even the moderately long-lived 235Np (half-life 396 days) would have decayed to less than one-billionth (10−9) its original concentration over the intervening decades. An additional very small amount of neptunium, produced by neutron irradiation of natural uranium in nuclear reactor cooling water, is released when the water is discharged into rivers or lakes. The concentration of 237Np in seawater is approximately 6.5 × 10−5 millibecquerels per liter: this concentration is between 0.1% and 1% that of plutonium. Once released in the surface environment, in contact with atmospheric oxygen, neptunium generally oxidizes fairly quickly, usually to the +4 or +5 state. Regardless of its oxidation state, the element exhibits much greater mobility than the other actinides, largely due to its ability to readily form aqueous solutions with various other elements. In one study comparing the diffusion rates of neptunium(V), plutonium(IV), and americium(III) in sandstone and limestone, neptunium penetrated more than ten times as well as the other elements.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reports describe modulation of GABA signalling, changes in monoamine turnover and effects on neurotrophic factor expression. These observations come mainly from animal and cell studies. A single unifying mechanism has not been demonstrated.
The peptide enters plasma rapidly and is broken down by ordinary proteases into amino acids and shorter fragments. Reported half-lives are short. Whether meaningful amounts of the intact molecule reach the brain is an open question.
Most clinical reports are small, published in Russian and not independently replicated. English-language reviews highlight the absence of large randomised trials. Conclusions about efficacy should be treated as provisional.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide designed as a stabilized analog of the natural tetrapeptide tuftsin. It has been investigated mainly for anxiolytic and cognitive effects. It is not an approved pharmaceutical in most countries.