Anti-Contraction Effects of Euscaphic Acid Isolated from Crataegus azarolus var. aronia L on Rat’s Aortic Smooth Muscle

The current study represents the first attempt to investigate the effect of the Euscaphic acid (EA) on Rats isolated  thoracic aortic smooth muscle cells. Isolated aorta was used to test the anti-contraction effects and the possible mode of action(s) of the EA (1*10-7 M) and (3*10-7 M) isolated from Crataegus azarolus var. aronia L. Euscaphic acid showed high anti-contraction effects on norepinephrin (NE), (1*10-9-10-4 M) induced contraction in aortic smooth muscle cells in endothelium-intact, endothelium-denuded, and aortic rings pre-incubated with potassium (K+)-channels blocker (tetraethylammonium, TEA), prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) inhibitor (indomethacin) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) inhibitor ( methylene blue). On the other hand, other K+ channels subtype blockers glibenclamide (GLIB); barium chloride (BaCl2) and 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) demonstrated that adenosine triphosphate sensitive K+ (KATP), inwardly rectifying K+ (Kir) and voltage-dependent K+ (KV) channels played no role in anti-contraction induced by EA. Furthermore, the role of L-types calcium (Ca++) channels in EA anti-contractile effects on aortic smooth muscle cells was proved, by using the Ca++-channel blocker verapamil, as indicated by the production of a potent anti-contraction effect . The results of the current study indicate that the anti-contraction effects of EA may be due to the activation of calcium dependent, K+ (KCa) channels and blocking of L-type Ca++ channels. Thus, from these results it can be concluded that both K+ and Ca++ channels play an important role in anti-contraction effects of EA, which are mediated possibly through opening of KCa channels and blockade of voltage-dependent calcium channels, which may justify the use of medicinal plant C. azarolus in cardiovascular disease. Keywords: Crataegus azarolus var. aronia, Euscaphic acid, smooth muscle cells, K+-channels blockers, Ca++-channels blocker

The Effects of Glycerl Trinitrate and Adenosine 5-Triphosphate On Activation of Potassium Channel-Mediated Vasorelaxation in Female Rats Aortic Smooth Muscle

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced from virtually all cell types composing the cardiovascular tissue and regulates vascular function through fine regulation of excitation–contraction coupling. Endogenous metabolites play a major role in coronary autoregulation. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the contribution of Glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) and Adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP) mediated relaxation in rat aortic smooth muscle in intact and endothelium denuded endothelium rings precontracted with Phenylephrine (PE). The thoracic aorta was isolated, cut into rings, and mounted in organ-bath chambers and isometric tension was recorded using PowerLab Data Acquisition System (Model ML 870). The results showed that GTN as NO donor produced dose-dependent relaxation in intact aortic rings precontracted with PE (1 µM) that disinhibited in the presence of Glibenclamide (GLIB), while GLIB attenuate the response induced by ATP in intact aortic rings. L-nitroarginine methylester (L-NAME) an antagonist for nitric oxide synthases (NOS), not abolish the response induced by GTN (Emax 55.28% ± 0.18). Caffeine, ATP receptors antagonist, were partially inhibit the relaxation induced by ATP (vasodilation rate decreased by about 20.57 %). In endothelium denuded aortic rings, vasorelaxation induced by ATP were significantly attenuated, while GTN significantly increased relaxation by removing endothelium. These results suggested that (1) ATP-dependent potassium channel did not involve in GTN inducing vasorelaxation while KATP and A2B receptors have a role in ATP mediated vasorelation (2) ATP partially dependent on endothelium in contrast to NO donors that independent to endothelium

Sodium Nitroprussid and Adenosine-Activated Potassium Channel in Aortic Smooth Muscle Isolated From Female Rats

Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) and Adenosine (Ado) are potent drugs used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Nitric oxid (NO) is produced from virtually all cell types composing the cardiovascular and regulates vascular function through fine regulation of excitation–contraction coupling. Adinosine endogenous metabolites play a major role in coronary autoregulation. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of NO and Ado mediated relaxation in rat aortic smooth muscle in intact and denuded endothelium rings precontracted with phenylepherine (PE). The thoracic aorta was isolated, cut into rings, and mounted in organ-bath chambers and isometric tension was recorded using powerLab Data Acquisition System (Model ML 870). According to the results of the current study, incubation of aortic rings with Glybenclamide (GLIB) decreased the relaxation response induced by Ado (the vasodilation value rate decrease from 41.07±6.7 control to 18.54±4.6) in intact aortic rings. L-nitroarginine methylester (L-NAME), not abolished the response induced by SNP, whereas Nifedipine significantly enhanced the response induced by SNP in a dose-dependent manner in intact endothelium rings. The relaxation to Ado in intact aortic rings was slightly decreased (6.88± 1.01), but not abolished completely after incubation with Caffeine (Ado receptors antagonist). On the other hand, removing endothelium did not attenuated the vasorelaxation induced by SNP and increased relaxation response. While, vasorelaxation of Ado in aortic rings were partially attenuated by removing endothelium. These results suggested that (1) ATP-dependent potassium channel (KATP) did not involve in SNP inducing vasorelaxation, while have a role in Ado mediated vasorelation. (2) Vasorelaxation effect of NO is endothelium independent, while, Ado relaxation effect is endothelium dependent

Impact of Nuts Consumption On Antioxidant Status and Pro-Oxidant Parameters in Healthy Human Volunteers

The aim of the current research was to study the effect of consumption of a mixture of almond and pistachio on antioxidants and pro-oxidants levels in healthy human volunteers.  This dietary intervention study was carried out during the period from February to March, 2013 on a total of 48 apparently healthy males students from Military Academy / Zakho, Kurdistan Region- Iraq. Blood samples were withdrawn from all volunteer who were living in a controlled environment and analyzed for the determination of serum antioxidants, pro-oxidants. Parameters were obtained at baseline, 3 and 6 weeks after daily consumption of 50 gm. of a mixture of almond and pistachio. The results of the current study demonstrated that daily consumption of 50 g of   almond and pistachio mixture for 3-6 weeks, significantly increased (P<0.05-0.005) the levels of total antioxidant, Ceruloplasmin, Superoxide dismutase and Glutathione reductase. On the other hand, the levels of the pro-oxidants Malonaldehyde and Peroxy- nitrite were significantly decreased (P<0.005) after 6 weeks of nuts consumption compared to the control. From this dietary intervention trial, it can be concluded that almonds and pistachio mixture improved anti-oxidants and pro-oxidants status compared with those of the healthy volunteers

Effects of Gasoline and Smoking on Lipid Profile and Liver Functions among Gasoline Exposure Workers in Iraq

Introduction: The rapid and recent rise in the pandemic of cardiovascular disease implies that the environment plays a significant role. Numerous biological systems, such as the cardiovascular, blood-forming organs, liver, and kidneys, can be affected by gasoline and smoking. Because filling station employees, repair service workers, gasoline truck drivers, and refinery workers are all at a greater risk of being exposed to gasoline fumes. Even though gasoline and smoking have been investigated for so many years, few studies have looked into the effects of gasoline exposure combined with smoking on a variety of physiological mechanisms. As a result, we propose that combining gasoline exposure with smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and impaired hepatic function. Methods: The study included 95 male adult volunteers who worked with gasoline and were exposed to different fuel derivatives as study group and age and sex-matched seemingly healthy non-exposed people as the controls. Questionnaire interviews were used to collect socio-demographic data and a standard technique was used to collect the blood samples. The levels of cholesterol, HDL4, LDL-C, triglyceride, and VLDL were measured, as well as for liver enzymes ALP, AST, ALT, indirect bilirubin, direct bilirubin, and total bilirubin were measured. Results: Our data suggest that smoking with gasoline exposure causes an increase in total and bad cholesterol levels, as well as a significant shift concerning the control group in lipid profile and liver enzymes. the exposed group had higher levels of ALP, and AST and significantly increased. In the nonsmoker exposed group D-bilirubin decreased in comparison to the control and exposed smoker group. Conclusion: This research concluded that the liver enzymes (ALP, AST, ALT) were higher among workers who smoke and are exposed to gasoline than in control subjects, similarly, the bad cholesterol also increase. Therefore, people who smoke and are handled with gasoline are at a higher risk of having heart and hepatic diseases

Assessment of Eating Habits and Lifestyle during Coronavirus Pandemic in the MENA region: A Cross-Sectional Study

© The Authors 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rapidly spread globally, forcing countries to apply lockdowns and strict social distancing measures. The aim of this study was to assess eating habits and lifestyle behaviors among residents of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the lockdown. A cross-sectional study among adult residents of the MENA region was conducted using an online questionnaire designed on Google Forms during April 2020. A total of 2970 participants from 18 countries participated in the current study. During the pandemic, over 30% reported weight gain, 6.2% consumed five or more meals per day compared to 2.2% before the pandemic (p\u3c0.001), and 48.8% did not consume fruits on daily basis. Moreover, 39.1% did not engage in physical activity, over 35% spent more than five hours per day on screens. A significant association between the frequency of training during the pandemic and the reported change in weight was found (p \u3c 0.001). A significantly higher percentage of participants reported physical and emotional exhaustion, irritability, and tension either all the time or a large part of the time during the pandemic (p \u3c 0.001). Although a high percentage of participants reported sleeping more hours per night during the pandemic, 63% had sleep disturbances. The study highlights that the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused a variety of lifestyle changes, physical inactivity, and psychological problems among adults in the MENA region

Relaxant Effects of Rutin on Rat Smooth Muscles

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relaxant effects of rutin on rat thoracic aorta, ileum and trachea. Rutin (1X10-7 - 6X10-3 M) caused a concentration-dependent relaxation of aortic rings precontracted with phenylephrine (PE 10-6M) while produced non-significant relaxed effect on KCl induced contraction with Log IC50’s -3.025 and -2.885 M/ml respectively. Rutin exhibited potent inhibitory effects on (ACh  10-6 M) precontracted ileum of the rat with Log IC50 -5.996 M/mL. Rutin produced more potent inhibitory effect on ACh- than KCl-induced contractions in trachea, with Log IC50’s of -4.371 and -4.301 M/mL respectively. While rutin showed more potent inhibitory effect on PE-induced contractions potently than KCl precontracted aorta with Log IC50’s was -3.025 M and  -2.885 respectively. From the data obtained during the present work, it can be concluded that rutin induces concentration-dependent relaxation in rat's smooth muscle. The mechanism of the relaxation may involves via nitric oxide-guanylyl cyclase pathway  for aorta and anticholinergic activity for ileum and trachea

Measurement of electrons from semileptonic heavy-flavour hadron decays at midrapidity in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

The differential invariant yield as a function of transverse momentum (pT) of electrons from semileptonic heavy-flavour hadron decays was measured at midrapidity in central (0–10%), semi-central (30–50%) and peripheral (60–80%) lead–lead (Pb–Pb) collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV in the pT intervals 0.5–26 GeV/c (0–10% and 30–50%) and 0.5–10 GeV/c (60–80%). The production cross section in proton–proton (pp) collisions at √s = 5.02 TeV was measured as well in 0.5 < pT < 10 GeV/c and it lies close to the upper band of perturbative QCD calculation uncertainties up to pT = 5 GeV/c and close to the mean value for larger pT. The modification of the electron yield with respect to what is expected for an incoherent superposition of nucleon–nucleon collisions is evaluated by measuring the nuclear modification factor RAA. The measurement of the RAA in different centrality classes allows in-medium energy loss of charm and beauty quarks to be investigated. The RAA shows a suppression with respect to unity at intermediate pT, which increases while moving towards more central collisions. Moreover, the measured RAA is sensitive to the modification of the parton distribution functions (PDF) in nuclei, like nuclear shadowing, which causes a suppression of the heavy-quark production at low pT in heavy-ion collisions at LHC

Dielectron and heavy-quark production in inelastic and high-multiplicity proton–proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV

The measurement of dielectron production is presented as a function of invariant mass and transverse momentum (pT) at midrapidity (|ye| < 0.8) in proton–proton (pp) collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV. The contributions from light-hadron decays are calculated from their measured cross sections in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV or 13 TeV. The remaining continuum stems from correlated semileptonic decays of heavy-flavour hadrons. Fitting the data with templates from two different MC event generators, PYTHIA and POWHEG, the charm and beauty cross sections at midrapidity are extracted for the first time at this collision energy: dσcc¯/dy|y=0 = 974 ± 138 (stat.) ± 140 (syst.) ± 214(BR) μb and dσbb¯ /dy|y=0 = 79 ± 14 (stat.) ± 11 (syst.) ± 5(BR) μb using PYTHIA simulations and dσcc¯/dy|y=0 = 1417 ± 184 (stat.) ± 204 (syst.) ± 312(BR) μb and dσbb¯ /dy|y=0 = 48 ± 14 (stat.) ± 7 (syst.) ± 3(BR) μb for POWHEG. These values, whose uncertainties are fully correlated between the two generators, are consistent with extrapolations from lower energies. The different results obtained with POWHEG and PYTHIA imply different kinematic correlations of the heavy-quark pairs in these two generators. Furthermore, comparisons of dielectron spectra in inelastic events and in events collected with a trigger on high charged-particle multiplicities are presented in various pT intervals. The differences are consistent with the already measured scaling of light-hadron and open-charm production at high charged-particle multiplicity as a function of pT. Upper limits for the contribution of virtual direct photons are extracted at 90% confidence level and found to be in agreement with pQCD calculations

Direct observation of the dead-cone effect in quantum chromodynamics

At particle collider experiments, elementary particle interactions with large momentum transfer produce quarks and gluons (known as partons) whose evolution is governed by the strong force, as described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) [1]. The vacuum is not transparent to the partons and induces gluon radiation and quark pair production in a process that can be described as a parton shower [2]. Studying the pattern of the parton shower is one of the key experimental tools in understanding the properties of QCD. This pattern is expected to depend on the mass of the initiating parton, through a phenomenon known as the dead-cone effect, which predicts a suppression of the gluon spectrum emitted by a heavy quark of mass m and energy E, within a cone of angular size m/E around the emitter [3]. A direct observation of the dead-cone effect in QCD has not been possible until now, due to the challenge of reconstructing the cascading quarks and gluons from the experimentally accessible bound hadronic states. Here we show the first direct observation of the QCD dead-cone by using new iterative declustering techniques [4, 5] to reconstruct the parton shower of charm quarks. This result confirms a fundamental feature of QCD, which is derived more generally from its origin as a gauge quantum field theory. Furthermore, the measurement of a dead-cone angle constitutes the first direct experimental observation of the non-zero mass of the charm quark, which is a fundamental constant in the standard model of particle physics.The direct measurement of the QCD dead cone in charm quark fragmentation is reported, using iterative declustering of jets tagged with a fully reconstructed charmed hadron.In particle collider experiments, elementary particle interactions with large momentum transfer produce quarks and gluons (known as partons) whose evolution is governed by the strong force, as described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). These partons subsequently emit further partons in a process that can be described as a parton shower which culminates in the formation of detectable hadrons. Studying the pattern of the parton shower is one of the key experimental tools for testing QCD. This pattern is expected to depend on the mass of the initiating parton, through a phenomenon known as the dead-cone effect, which predicts a suppression of the gluon spectrum emitted by a heavy quark of mass $m_{\rm{Q}}$ and energy $E$, within a cone of angular size $m_{\rm{Q}}$/$E$ around the emitter. Previously, a direct observation of the dead-cone effect in QCD had not been possible, owing to the challenge of reconstructing the cascading quarks and gluons from the experimentally accessible hadrons. We report the direct observation of the QCD dead cone by using new iterative declustering techniques to reconstruct the parton shower of charm quarks. This result confirms a fundamental feature of QCD. Furthermore, the measurement of a dead-cone angle constitutes a direct experimental observation of the non-zero mass of the charm quark, which is a fundamental constant in the standard model of particle physics