Blog

  • PHC terms Swat tragedy a gross negligence

    PHC terms Swat tragedy a gross negligence

    PESHAWAR   –  The Peshawar High Court (PHC) Wednesday declared the Swat tragedy a result of gross negligence and ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident. In a written judgment on a petition filed against encroachments on rivers and the Swat incident, the court stated that the tragic event that occurred on June 27 in the Swat River was due to the serious negligence of the concerned authorities. The judgment noted that 17 precious lives were lost due to the failure of officials, and no emergency measures such as helicopters were used to rescue tourists, terming it a clear sign of criminal negligence in public service. The court also pointed out that illegal construction of hotels and buildings along rivers such as the Swat, Panjkora, Dir, Indus, Kabul, and Charsadda has become common, posing a severe threat to human lives. The existence of these unauthorized structures reflects the failure and silent complicity of the relevant institutions. The court directed the investigation committee formed on the Swat tragedy to submit its preliminary findings within 7 days and a detailed report within 14 days. The Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also instructed to clarify what steps have been taken so far to ensure public safety. This firm action by court is seen as a landmark step towards ensuring accountability and protecting lives in the future.


    Continue Reading

  • ‘It still doesn’t compute’: David Corenswet on becoming Superman in James Gunn’s reboot

    ‘It still doesn’t compute’: David Corenswet on becoming Superman in James Gunn’s reboot

    LOS ANGELES, July 10 — Actor David Corenswet feels a connection with the classic DC comic book character Superman that he portrays in the 2025 James Gunn directed film Superman.

    The character Superman is known in the comic books for his identity problems, namely his double life as both a powerful superhero while also being an awkward reporter named Clark Kent who works at Daily Planet.

    Corenswet is the latest actor to don the blue and red suit on the big screen, and he is still processing the weight of his new identity as the superhero.

    “As far as the moments of it hitting me that I’m playing Superman, I think saying the sentence out loud is the closest I get,” he told Reuters.

    “But it still just sounds so ridiculous to me to say it out loud that, you know, it doesn’t quite compute,” he added.

    Superman, which arrives in US movie theatres tomorrow, follows Superman as he gets drawn into international politics as well as crossing swords with his billionaire nemesis Lex Luthor, played by Nicholas Hoult, monsters and other superpowered beings.

    Cast members Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet attend a premiere for the film ‘Superman’ at the TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California July 7, 2025. — Reuters pic

    The film has received high acclaim from early reviews on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with an 88 per cent rating.

    “What’s best about Gunn’s movie is its laser-focused on relatable characters. This is no puzzle piece in a universe or a loud series of action set pieces,” Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post wrote.

    There was something special in Superman’s wardrobe that brought Corenswet closer to the character.

    “The cape is the feeling that sort of pulls the whole thing together,” he said.

    “When you walk in to the soundstage and you feel the cape billowing behind you, or you come to a stop in the cape, sort of twirls around you a little bit, you see your shadow on the wall and the silhouette of the cape, that’s the sort of like,” Corenswet said.

    “And I don’t know whether it’s because I always wanted to be a Jedi growing up, but man, I can’t recommend the cape enough,” he added.

    For Wendell Pierce, who plays the Daily Planet editor Perry White, the movie goes past its fantastical elements and reminds people that Superman is still relatable.

    “That’s the thing that we learned from Superman, that his true superpower is humanity,” he said, emphasising Clark Kent’s life as a working journalist.

    Superman is the first film of the new Warner Bros and DC Universe partnership, led by Gunn.

    Upcoming projects include Supergirl and R-Rated horror film Clayface.

    Anthony Corrigan, who plays Superman’s ally Metamorpho, who can transform his body into any element, said that Gunn didn’t just rely on Superman’s popularity to engage audiences.

    “If it’s the right story, you know, it’s not just resting on the IP and on the character, it actually has to have a vision and creative vision,” he said, emphasising Gunn’s dedication to only make movies out of good screenplays. — Reuters

    Continue Reading

  • Exercise enjoyment and commitment linked to personality traits

    Exercise enjoyment and commitment linked to personality traits

    Finding motivation to exercise can be the greatest challenge in working out. This might be part of the reason why less than a quarter of people achieve the activity goals recommended by the World Health Organization.

    But what if working out could be more enjoyable? One way of achieving this could be opting for types of exercise that fit our personalities. To this end, researchers in the UK now have examined how personality affects what types of exercise we prefer, and our commitment and engagement to them. The results were published in Frontiers in Psychology.

    We found that our personality can influence how we engage with exercise, and particularly which forms of exercise we enjoy the most.”


    Dr. Flaminia Ronca, first author from University College London’s (UCL) Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health

    “Understanding personality factors in designing and recommending physical activity programs is likely to be very important in determining how successful a program is, and whether people will stick with it and become fitter,” added senior author Prof Paul Burgess from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

    Different sports for different people

    The researchers recruited participants that attended lab testing for baseline fitness. They then split them into two groups; the first group was provided with an eight-week home-based fitness plan made up of cycling and strength training (intervention group), the other group continued their usual lifestyle (control group). During lab testing, the first intervention week, and after the intervention, all participants completed a questionnaire on how much they’d enjoyed each training session. The personality traits examined in the study included extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness.

    “Our brains are wired in different ways, which drives our behaviors and how we interact with our environment,” Ronca explained. “So it’s not surprising that personality would also influence how we respond to different intensities of exercise.”

    For example, people scoring high on extraversion enjoyed high intensity sessions with others around, including team sports. Contrary, people scoring high on neuroticism preferred private workouts. While they are fine with high intensity, they need short breaks in between. Others, scoring high on consciousness and openness were found to engage in exercise regardless of whether they particularly enjoyed it or were driven by curiosity, respectively.

    Stress less

    What was particularly interesting was the relationship between personality, change in fitness, and stress, the researchers said. Before the intervention, the stress levels of both groups were similar. After the intervention, however, especially people who scored high in neuroticism showed a strong reduction in stress. “It’s fantastic news, as it highlights that those who benefit the most from a reduction in stress respond very well to exercise,” Ronca said.

    The researchers pointed out that the most important part about exercising is finding something we enjoy and not to be discouraged if we don’t immediately find it. “It’s ok if we don’t enjoy a particular session,” Ronca said. “We can try something else.” 

    “We hope that if people can find physical activities that they enjoy they will more readily choose to do them,” Burgess concluded. “After all, we don’t have to nag dogs to go for a walk: being so physically inactive that we start to feel miserable might be a peculiarly human thing to do. In effect, our body punishes us by making us miserable. But for some reason, many of us humans seem poor at picking up on these messages it is sending to our brain.”

    Source:

    Journal reference:

    Ronca, F., et al. (2025) Personality traits can predict which exercise intensities we enjoy most, and the magnitude of stress reduction experienced following a training program. Frontiers in Psychology. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1587472.

    Continue Reading

  • Dietary inflammatory index and its association with hematological inflammatory markers: a cross-sectional analysis in healthy and depressed individuals | BMC Nutrition

    Dietary inflammatory index and its association with hematological inflammatory markers: a cross-sectional analysis in healthy and depressed individuals | BMC Nutrition

  • Shivappa N, Steck SE, Hurley TG, Hussey JR, Hébert JR. Designing and developing a literature-derived, population-based dietary inflammatory index. Public Health Nutr. 2014;17(8):1689–96.

    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Marx W, Veronese N, Kelly JT, Smith L, Hockey M, Collins S, et al. The dietary inflammatory index and human health: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies. Adv Nutr. 2021;12(5):1681–90.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Ataei Kachouei A, Kamrani F, Akhavan NS, Haghighatdoost F. Association between dietary inflammatory index and risk of chronic kidney disease and low glomerular filtration rate; a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. J Health Popul Nutr. 2025;44(1):120.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Tolkien K, Bradburn S, Murgatroyd C. An anti-inflammatory diet as a potential intervention for depressive disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Nutr. 2019;38(5):2045–52.

    CAS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association D, American Psychiatric Association D. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. American psychiatric association Washington, DC; 2013.

  • Ataei Kachouei A, Kamrani F, Haghighatdoost F, Mohammadifard N, Najafi F, Farshidi H, et al. Relationship of the prime diet quality score (PDQS) and healthy eating index (HEI-2015) with depression and anxiety: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2024;24(1):1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamrani F, Kachouei AA, Sobhani SR, Khosravi M. Nourishing the mind: how the EAT-Lancet reference diet (ELD) and MIND diet impact stress, anxiety, and depression. BMC Psychiatry. 2024;24(1):1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osimo EF, Pillinger T, Rodriguez IM, Khandaker GM, Pariante CM, Howes OD, Brain. Behav Immun. 2020;87:901–9.

  • Azarmanesh D, Bertone-Johnson E, Pearlman J, Liu Z, Carbone E. Does inflammation mediate the association between dietary inflammatory index (DII) and depression? National health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES) 2005–2010. Curr Developments Nutr. 2020;4:nzaa06104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Azarmanesh D, Bertone-Johnson ER, Pearlman J, Liu Z, Carbone ET. The dietary inflammatory index is inversely associated with depression, which is minimally mediated by C-reactive protein. Nutr Res. 2022;97:11–21.

    CAS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Popov M, Popov Y, Kosterin D, Lepik O. Inflammatory hematological ratios in adolescents with mental disorders: A scoping review. Consort Psychiatr. 2024;5(2):45–61.

    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Li W, Li S, Shang Y, Zhuang W, Yan G, Chen Z, Lyu J. Associations between dietary and blood inflammatory indices and their effects on cognitive function in elderly Americans. Front NeuroSci. 2023;17:1117056.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Li T, Li H, Li D, Wang X, Zhao A et al. Association of dietary inflammatory potential with blood inflammation: the prospective markers on mild cognitive impairment. Nutrients. 2022;14(12):241.

  • Gialluisi A, Santonastaso F, Bonaccio M, Bracone F, Shivappa N, Hebert JR et al. Circulating inflammation markers partly explain the link between the dietary inflammatory index and depressive symptoms. J Inflamm Res. 2021;14:4955–68.

  • Tohidinezhad F, Khorsand A, Zakavi SR, Rezvani R, Zarei-Ghanavati S, Abrishami M, et al. The burden and predisposing factors of non-communicable diseases in Mashhad university of medical sciences personnel: a prospective 15-year organizational cohort study protocol and baseline assessment. BMC Public Health. 2020;20:1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjöström M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, et al. International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003;35(8):1381–95.

    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Amini H, Isanejad A, Chamani N, Movahedi-Fard F, Salimi F, Moezi M, Habibi S. Physical activity during COVID-19 pandemic in the Iranian population: A brief report. Heliyon. 2020;6(11):e05411.

  • Hazavehei SMM, Asadi Z, Hassanzadeh A, Shekarchizadeh P. Comparing the effect of two methods of presenting physical education 2 course on the attitudes and practices of female students towards regular physical activity in Isfahan university of medical sciences. Iran J Med Educ. 2008;8(1):121–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kakemam E, Navvabi E, Albelbeisi AH, Saeedikia F, Rouhi A, Majidi S. Psychometric properties of the Persian version of depression anxiety stress Scale-21 items (DASS-21) in a sample of health professionals: a cross-sectional study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022;22(1):111.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Moska C, Goudriaan AE, Blanken P, Hendriks V. Accuracy of the depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21) for screening on comorbid internalizing disorders among youth in substance use disorder treatment. Eur Addict Res. 2023;29(6):385–93.

    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Eghtesad S, Hekmatdoost A, Faramarzi E, Homayounfar R, Sharafkhah M, Hakimi H et al. Validity and reproducibility of a food frequency questionnaire assessing food group intake in the PERSIAN cohort study. Front Nutr. 2023;10:1059870.

  • Calder PC, Ahluwalia N, Albers R, Bosco N, Bourdet-Sicard R, Haller D, et al. A consideration of biomarkers to be used for evaluation of inflammation in human nutritional studies. Br J Nutr. 2013;109(S1):S1–34.

    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohammadi S, Hosseinikia M, Ghaffarian-Bahraman A, Clark CC, Davies IG, Yousefi Rad E, Saboori S. Dietary inflammatory index and elevated serum C‐reactive protein: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Food Sci Nutr. 2023;11(10):5786–98.

    CAS 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukherjee MS, Han CY, Sukumaran S, Delaney CL, Miller MD. Effect of anti-inflammatory diets on inflammation markers in adult human populations: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Nutr Rev. 2023;81(1):55–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson CS, Shively CA, Michalson KT, Lea AJ, DeBo RJ, Howard TD, et al. Contrasting effects of Western vs mediterranean diets on monocyte inflammatory gene expression and social behavior in a primate model. Elife. 2021;10:e68293.

    CAS 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan S, Tung N, Casanova-Acebes M, Chang C, Cantoni C, Zhang D, et al. Dietary intake regulates the Circulating inflammatory monocyte pool. Cell. 2019;178(5):1102–e1417.

    CAS 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan S, Tung N, Casanova-Acebes M, Chang C, Cantoni C, Zhang D, et al. Dietary intake regulates the Circulating inflammatory monocyte pool. Cell. 2019;178(5):1102–14. e17.

    CAS 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Wirth MD, Sevoyan M, Hofseth L, Shivappa N, Hurley TG, Hébert JR. The dietary inflammatory index is associated with elevated white blood cell counts in the National health and nutrition examination survey. Brain Behav Immun. 2018;69:296–303.

  • Phillips CM, Shivappa N, Hébert JR, Perry IJ. Dietary inflammatory index and biomarkers of lipoprotein metabolism, inflammation and glucose homeostasis in adults. Nutrients. 2018;10(8):1033.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Smeehuijzen L, Gijbels A, Nugteren-Boogaard JP, Vrieling F, Boutagouga Boudjadja M, Trouwborst I, et al. Immunometabolic signatures of Circulating monocytes in humans with obesity and insulin resistance. Diabetes. 2024;73(7):1112–21.

    CAS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Isidoro BM, Beretta MV, Flores PT, Bierhals VM, Martins CC, Busnello FM, Peres A. Inflammation diet and the association with inflammatory markers in individuals with Obesity – A systematic scoping review. Curr Nutr Rep. 2025;14(1):60.

    CAS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Yi Q, Li X, He Y, Xia W, Shao J, Ye Z, Song P. Associations of dietary inflammatory index with metabolic syndrome and its components: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Public Health Nutr. 2021;24(16):5463–70.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mazidi M, Shivappa N, Wirth MD, Hebert JR, Mikhailidis DP, Kengne AP, Banach M. Dietary inflammatory index and cardiometabolic risk in US adults. Atherosclerosis. 2018;276:23–7.

    CAS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Alkerwi Aa, Shivappa N, Crichton G, Hébert JR. No significant independent relationships with cardiometabolic biomarkers were detected in the observation of cardiovascular risk factors in Luxembourg study population. Nutr Res. 2014;34(12):1058–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang C, Ren W, Li M, Wang W, Sun C, Liu L, et al. Association between the children’s dietary inflammatory index (C-DII) and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress among children and adolescents: NHANES 2015–2018. Front Nutr. 2022;9:894966.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Morales F, Montserrat-de la Paz S, Leon MJ, Rivero-Pino F. Effects of malnutrition on the immune system and infection and the role of nutritional strategies regarding improvements in children’s health status: A literature review. Nutrients. 2023;16(1):1.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Ottman N, Smidt H, De Vos WM, Belzer C. The function of our microbiota: who is out there and what do they do? Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2012;2:31601.

  • Gałecki P, Mossakowska-Wójcik J, Talarowska M. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of antidepressants– SSRIs, SNRIs. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2018;80:291–4.

    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamrani F, Kachouei AA, Fereydouni N, Tanbakuchi D, Esmaily H, Moohebati M et al. Oxidative balance and mental health: exploring the link between prooxidant-antioxidant balance and depression in hypertensive and normotensive individuals, accounting for sex differences. J Affect Disord. 2024;367:391–8.

  • Øverland S, Woicik W, Sikora L, Whittaker K, Heli H, Skjelkvåle FS, et al. Seasonality and symptoms of depression: A systematic review of the literature. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2019;29:e31.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

Continue Reading

  • ‘June was hottest on record in western Europe’

    ‘June was hottest on record in western Europe’


    PARIS:

    Western Europe sweltered through its hottest June on record last month, as “extreme” temperatures blasted the region in punishing back-to-back heatwaves, the EU climate monitor Copernicus said Wednesday.

    Globally, this past June was the third warmest on record, continuing a blistering heat streak in recent years as the planet warms as a result of humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases.

    The previous hottest June was in 2024 and the second hottest was in 2023, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.

    Sweltering extremes were particularly pronounced in Europe, which is warming several times faster than the global average.

    Millions of people were exposed to high heat stress across parts of the continent as daily average temperatures in western Europe climbed to levels rarely seen before — and never so early in the summer.

    Several countries recorded surface temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with heat of up to 46 degrees Celsius in Spain and Portugal, Copernicus said.

    Samantha Burgess, the EU monitor’s Strategic Lead for Climate, said the impact of the heatwaves in Europe was “exceptional”, intensified by record sea surface temperatures in the western Mediterranean — which hit an all-time daily maximum in June.

    “In a warming world, heatwaves are likely to become more frequent, more intense and impact more people across Europe,” she said.

    The two heatwaves — from June 17 to 22, and again from June 30 to July 2 — were linked to heat domes trapping warm air over affected regions, prolonging the stifling weather, and worsening pollution and wildfire conditions.

    Continue Reading

  • Seoul’s runaway property market puts Korean central bank in a bind – Financial Times

    Seoul’s runaway property market puts Korean central bank in a bind – Financial Times

    1. Seoul’s runaway property market puts Korean central bank in a bind  Financial Times
    2. Bank of Korea expectedly keeps rates steady at an almost three-year low  CNBC
    3. South Korean court approves arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over martial law decree  financialexpress.com
    4. Bank of Korea Maintains Base Interest Rate at 2.50% per Annum  bloomingbit
    5. Bank of Korea to pause easing in July amid household debt surge: Reuters poll  104.1 WIKY

    Continue Reading

  • “My heart stopped for 20 seconds”: UFC star Ben Askren opens up on life-changing story after lung transplant in Wisconsin hospital | International Sports News

    “My heart stopped for 20 seconds”: UFC star Ben Askren opens up on life-changing story after lung transplant in Wisconsin hospital | International Sports News

    UFC star Ben Askren opens up on life-changing story after lung transplant in Wisconsin hospital (Image via Getty)

    Fans of MMA fighter Ben Askren were surprised this week after the former UFC star shared a very personal and emotional message from his hospital bed. His face was worn down, his voice was cool, and his words were hard to forget. What happened to him was serious, so serious that even he doesn’t remember an entire month of his life. He only found out later by reading what his wife wrote in her journal. The truth? Ben Askren nearly died,multiple times and now he’s finally talking about it.

    What happened to Ben Askren during his lung failure in June 2025

    Wednesday, July 9, 2025, Ben Askren posted a video from his hospital room to his verified Instagram account. In the video, the 40-year-old described how he was fighting for his life last month after coming down with a horrible case of pneumonia. It deteriorated so badly that he ended up needing a double lung transplant to survive.He also said he does not remember anything from the entire month of June. It wasn’t until he read the notes that his wife Amy wrote that he realized how close to death he really was. “I basically died four times,” Ben Askren said in the video. “My heart stopped for 20 seconds. Not ideal, I don’t know if you guys know that.”Doctors were able to save him, but it took major surgery. The lung transplant was done in late June at a hospital in Wisconsin, where he’s still recovering.

    Also Read:

    UFC Fighter Ben Askren’s Wife Shares Terrifying Health Status Before Emergency Lung Transplant

    How Ben Askren’s weight dropped to high school level after 45 days in hospital

    Ben Askren also mentioned that he dropped 50 pounds while he was in the hospital. He had not weighed 147 pounds since he was 15 years old when he stepped on the scale again this week.He joked, “I haven’t been this light since high school wrestling. That’s kind of crazy.”Now in recovery, Ben Askren is slowly regaining his strength. He thanked his fans, his doctors, and most of all, his wife Amy for being by his side through the entire fight. The former Bellator and UFC star’s health update has drawn love and support from the entire MMA community across the U.S.


    Continue Reading

  • Asian shares up on Nvidia high, investors unfazed by Trump’s tariff moves

    Asian shares up on Nvidia high, investors unfazed by Trump’s tariff moves

    By Rae Wee

    SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asian stocks rose slightly on Thursday, riding on optimism from Nvidia’s brief rise to a world-record $4 trillion valuation and as investors largely shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvos.

    U.S. copper futures widened their premium to the London benchmark overnight after Trump announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on copper. He later said on Wednesday the levies would come into effect on August 1.

    Trump also turned his trade ire against Brazil on Wednesday as he threatened a punitive 50% tariff on exports to the U.S. and issued tariff notices to seven minor trading partners.

    The latest moves did little to rattle markets, leaving MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.4%.

    The Nikkei fell 0.6%, while China’s CSI300 blue-chip index rose 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.1%.

    EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.18% and FTSE futures advanced 0.4%.

    Artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia became the world’s first company to hit a $4 trillion market value on Wednesday, solidifying its position as one of Wall Street’s most favoured stocks. In Japan, chipmaker supplier Disco was the top gainer with a 4.3% surge.

    U.S. stock futures eased slightly in Asia on Thursday, with Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures both down about 0.2% each, after both indexes closed higher in the cash session overnight.

    The market reaction to Trump’s tariff developments this week has been much less severe than the post “Liberation Day” selloff in April, with Jeff Ng, SMBC’s head of Asia macro strategy, saying investors have grown somewhat “numb” to the ever-changing situation.

    “They know that there is still room for negotiation. A lot of these announcements, they start off with eye-catching numbers, but they are not totally final, and they are still subject to changes. Even if they are implemented, they could also be reversed in the coming few months to year,” he said.

    Also keeping stocks supported were expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year.

    Minutes released on Wednesday showed “most participants” at the Fed’s meeting last month anticipated rate cuts would be appropriate later this year, with any price shock from tariffs expected to be “temporary or modest”.

    “Right now, markets are not pricing in a high chance of a full-blown recession at this stage, given that the labour market continues to be quite resilient, but they know that there’s a lot of pressure to push policy rates lower, so that could lower the opportunity cost of holding equities,” Ng said.

    Continue Reading

  • India's equity benchmarks open flat as IT offsets broader gains – Reuters

    1. India’s equity benchmarks open flat as IT offsets broader gains  Reuters
    2. Indian stock benchmarks set to open flat as Trump threatens pharma tariffs  Business Recorder
    3. India Stocks Extend Fall  TradingView
    4. Stock market today: Nifty50 opens flat; BSE Sensex near 83,550  Times of India
    5. Calm Prevails as India Markets Brush Off Jane Street, Trade Risk  Bloomberg.com

    Continue Reading

  • Uncovering how a key inflammatory molecule causes esophageal smooth muscle contractions

    Uncovering how a key inflammatory molecule causes esophageal smooth muscle contractions

    A research group led by Dr. Keisuke Obara, Dr. Kento Yoshioka, and Professor Yoshio Tanaka from the Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, has uncovered important details about how platelet-activating factor (PAF)-a powerful molecule involved in inflammation and allergic reactions-triggers contractions in the smooth muscles of the esophagus. Their findings could pave the way for new treatments targeting gastrointestinal symptoms associated with allergies, asthma, and anaphylaxis.

    What is PAF?

    PAF (platelet-activating factor) is a bioactive lipid molecule produced by various cells in the body, including immune cells, during inflammatory responses. It plays a major role in processes such as blood clotting, immune cell recruitment, and the onset of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, by making blood vessels more permeable and stimulating smooth muscle contraction in tissues like the lungs, intestines, and esophagus.

    Although PAF is essential for immune defense, excessive or misdirected PAF activity is linked to pathological conditions such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and allergic reactions that affect breathing and digestion.

    Study highlights

    In their study, the researchers investigated how PAF causes contractions in the esophageal smooth muscle of rats-a process that contributes to symptoms like chest tightness and difficulty swallowing during allergic episodes.

    They discovered that PAF triggers calcium entry into muscle cells through three distinct types of calcium channels:

    • L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs),

    • Receptor-operated calcium channels (ROCCs),

    • Store-operated calcium channels (SOCCs).

    Importantly, the study revealed that non-VDCC channels-particularly a protein called Orai1 that forms SOCCs-are the main drivers of PAF-induced muscle contraction in the esophagus. This challenges the traditional focus on VDCCs in smooth muscle pharmacology.

    Our findings suggest that targeting these non-traditional calcium channels could offer more effective treatments for esophageal and gastrointestinal symptoms seen in allergic conditions.”


    Dr. Keisuke Obara, lead researcher

    Implications for future therapies

    By better understanding which calcium channels PAF uses to trigger muscle contraction, the study lays the groundwork for developing new drugs that can more precisely block unwanted muscle activity without affecting normal muscle function elsewhere.

    Source:

    Journal reference:

    Obara, K., et al. (2025). Pharmacological Characteristics of Extracellular Ca2+ Influx Pathways Responsible for Platelet-Activating Factor-Induced Contractions in Rat Esophagus Smooth Muscle: Involvement of L-Type, Receptor-Operated, and Store-Operated Ca2+ Channels. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. doi.org/10.1248/bpb.b25-00233.

    Continue Reading