__________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ "The Swanglers go to Dominica" 2012/06/07 12:48 ++ We just got back from our trip to the Dominican. It was a lovely gift from my parents to me and Carlin for our wedding. We went to a resort called Riu Bachata in Puerto Plata, which was very good. The food was great, which led us to 7 days of gluttony, drinks were free (albeit a bit watered down). So, to anyone considering this resort, the food is a pro. They also have two formal restaurants in the resort, an Italian one and a steak house. Both are not really much better than the regular buffet, the steak house had a good desert which we couldn't get on the buffet and the salad bar on the Italian restaurant was amazing the day we went. ++ The resort did have quite a few things for us to do, such as kayaking, swimming pools, a beach, paddle boats, paid excursions, pick up volleyball games every afternoon. The volleyball games were a lot of fun, and the kayak was fun as well. The only complaint I have is the beach, which wasn't the best I've seen. There were a lot of rocks on the sand and further out in the water quite a few Sea Urchins. When we went kayaking, we ended up capsizing. This would have been find if we didn't end up scrapping our legs on the rocks and stepping on sea urchins to get back on the kayak. If anyone reading this decide to go kayaking there, make sure to have proper water sport shoes. I highly recommend it. Despite all that, it was great fun. ++ We ended up doing two excursions as well. Zip Lining on the canopy which also involved horse back riding. This one was quite a bit of fun for people without fear of heights. Our second excursion was the Outback Safari, which was also pretty good fun and somewhat educational as well about the country. Only real complaint I have is the drive on both, which I learned wasn't very safe. Dominicans drive like jerks with no respect for human life, so just be aware of that. I'm saying that even though I grew up in Brazil, where drivers are asses. The only regret I have is not going to Paradise Island, which I think would have been a great paid trip, so if you are thinking about it as you read this, that would be my advice (although I didn't actually see it myself). ++ On another topic, just before our trip, another paper featuring some of the work I've done in the lab has been published. If you are curious to learn more about the "Effects of the 5-HT(2C) receptor agonist Ro60-0175 and the 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonist M100907 on nicotine self-administration and reinstatement" or see my other paper click HERE (http://pubget.com/search?q=authors%3A%22Leo%20B%20Silenieks%22). __________________________________________________________________________________________________ "My first paper" 2012/01/04 09:24 ++ First of all, happy new year. I hope everyone had a good Christmas break, much like I did. We ended up going to Barrie to visit family. Unfortunately my parents were in British Columbia visiting my sister for a good portion of the time. We still saw them for a couple of days. We spent a good portion of our time with the in-laws, which was great. Overall, it was a good holiday. ++ Just before the holiday though, I had the pleasant surprise to see that my first paper has been published online before 2012. We worked on getting this paper out all year and it was basically another Christmas present to see it out there on the day I went up to Barrie. The paper is called "The 5-HT2C Receptor Agonist Lorcaserin Reduces Nicotine Self-Administration, Discrimination, and Reinstatement: Relationship to Feeding Behavior and Impulse Control" and it was published in a highly regarded journal in my field, the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. You may click on the name of the article or HERE (http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v37/n5/abs/npp2011303a.html) to access it. ++ The paper should be published early 2012 on paper, I'll be looking forward to that. We also have another paper very close to being accepted, which deals with the same serotonin receptor is my first one. I wasn't as heavily involved on this second paper however, I just ran a few of the experiments. A couple other papers are also in the oven, and are quite likely to be submitted this year as well. All in all, our hard work is starting to produce some fruits. I'm just hoping this year I can start my masters. __________________________________________________________________________________________________