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Galactic snows

01.01.2020

Many people think that the matter of the Universe is mainly collected in the stars and a little - in the planets circling around them. This is not so: the mass of the matter of stars is only 5% of the mass of the total matter. And the main contribution is made by clouds of interstellar and intergalactic gas. It turns out that star snow can come from these clouds. Astrophysicists led by Dr. Jeremy Lee from the University of Hong Kong unexpectedly came to this conclusion. And the object of their research was the so-called globular clusters of stars.

It is traditionally believed that such clusters formed a very long time ago, almost at the birth of the Universe, perhaps even before the appearance of galaxies. Astronomers find globular clusters at the periphery of galaxies. For example, the Milky Way has 15 such satellites, and some of them are clearly visible in the night sky, because they contain from tens of thousands to millions of luminous stars. In large galaxies, the number of globular clusters is in the tens of thousands. Since the clusters arose long ago, they are composed mainly of old stars, in general, these are communities of fading worlds.

But researchers from Dr. Lee's group decided to understand why the brightest galaxies are located at the centers of galaxy clusters and what gives them such brightness. Looking closely, they found that numerous globular clusters of stars do this. But how can ancient stars give off so much light? No way - was the answer, they do not give light. Because the studied clusters are not old at all, they were formed on the strength of a billion years ago and are filled with young bright stars!

Having discovered this most interesting contradiction with well-known data, astrophysicists wondered: how could this happen? According to their idea, flows of hot intergalactic gas are to blame for everything. They form peculiar networks inside the clusters of galaxies, and in their nodes, when the flows collide, regions are obtained where clouds of cold gas are formed, and the gas cools most strongly precisely in the center of the galactic cluster; That's where the clouds are concentrated. As the density of matter increases and it cools, stars begin to form in them, like snowflakes in the clouds of the Earth. Under the influence of gravity, thousands, if not millions of stars stick together into spherical clusters and all together fall in the direction of just the central galaxy. So on its periphery a layer of bright shiny galactic snow is formed, which provides it with an unusual radiance.

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Nitroglycerin May Cause Migraines and Abnormal Cardiovascular Reactions 18.12.2019

In addition to the recognized migraine-provoking effects of nitroglycerin, a study reports abnormal cardiovascular regulation of this compound in patients with migraine.

Nitroglycerin is a potent vasodilator and is known to cause migraine attacks in migraine patients. Due to its vasodilating properties, nitroglycerin is used in cardiovascular studies to test for cardiovascular changes in blood pressure measurements secondary to venous pooling. For example, nitroglycerin is used to test baroreflex function in individuals with vasovagal syncope, which is common in migraine patients.

Scientists at the Leiden University Medical Center assessed cardiovascular parameters using photoplethysmography (blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, peripheral resistance) before (-10 min), during intravenous nitroglycerin administration (20 min) and after nitroglycerin administration (10 min.) They compared the differences between migraine patients who had nitroglycerin-induced attacks and healthy controls. The presence of vasovagal syncope was also taken into account.

Ten healthy participants and 16 patients with migraine were included in the study. Thirteen of 16 patients (81,3%) had migraine attacks after nitroglycerin infusion, versus none in the control group. Vasovagal syncope was not provoked. Patients with migraine showed a higher heart rate in response to nitroglycerin infusion. In a subgroup analysis of patients with migraine divided into patients with early attacks (those who had attacks <270 minutes after NTG infusion) or late attacks (at >270 minutes), stroke volume and cardiac output were reduced in both cases within migraine group compared to the healthy control group, with a more pronounced reduction in the early-onset migraine group.

The authors interpret these data with caution as the study was underpowered with a small sample size. Dr. van Oosterhout said, "The increased systemic circulatory response to nitroglycerin in migraine suggests that the systemic vasculature is more susceptible to its (vasodilating) effects." And adds: "Sensitivity to nitric oxide (NO) may be increased, possibly due to higher perivascular concentrations of NO synthase." Finally, although none of the participants had vasovagal syncope, the authors do not rule out a common susceptibility to migraine attacks and vasovagal syncope, as some patients in this study also experienced vasovagal syncope in life.

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