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Background: ( E , E )-farnesol is a sesquiterpene alcohol derived from plants and animals that exhibits pharmacological properties in the cardiovascular system. However, its effects on human umbilical vessels remain unknown., Purpose: Thus, this study aims to characterize the vasodilatory effect of ( E , E )-farnesol in human umbilical arteries (HUA)., Study Design: The tissue is obtained from pregnant women over 18 years of age, normotensive, and without prepartum complications. After collected, the tissue was segmented and dissected to remove Wharton's jelly and obtain the umbilical arteries segments., Methods: HUA segments were isolated and sectioned into rings that were subjected to isometric tension recordings in an organ bath., Results: ( E , E )-farnesol (1 μmol/L to 1 mmol/L) promoted vasodilatory effect in HUA preparations, affecting basal tone, and inhibiting the electromechanical coupling induced by KCl 60 mmol/L with greater potency (EC 50 225.3 μmol/L) than the pharmacomechanical coupling induced by 5-HT 10 μmol/L (EC 50 363.5 μmol/L). In the absence of extracellular calcium, pharmacomechanical coupling was also abolished, and contractions induced by CaCl 2 or BaCl 2 were attenuated by ( E , E )-farnesol indicating a possible direct inhibition of L-type VOCC as a mechanism of the vasodilatory effect. The vasodilator efficacy of ( E , E )-farnesol on reduction of vasocontraction induced by the presence of tetraethylammonium (1 or 10 mmol/L), 4-aminopyridine (1 mmol/L) and glibenclamide (10 μmol/L) suggesting a possible influence of different potassium channels (BK Ca , K V and K ATP )., Conclusion: These results suggest that ( E , E )-farnesol may be a promising pharmacological candidate for obstetric hypertensive disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

The phylum Arthropoda comprises approximately 85% of all described animal species. The class Arachnida includes some invertebrates of great importance as they are either involved in the transmission of diseases or poses a risk of human envenomation. Spiders belonging to the genus Phoneutria sp., are the arachnids exhibiting medical importance. These animals were quarantined and maintained in captivity at the Biotério de Artrópodes of the Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil, for the production of the anti-arachnid serum. A total 509 feces samples from different Phoneutria nigriventer were analyzed, and 131 (25.73%) samples were found to be positive for flagellates and ciliates. All positive samples were subjected to DNA extraction and amplification of 18S gene. A total of 16 sequences were obtained and analyzed using BLAST. Sequences were identified as Colpoda steiini, one as Colpoda aspera, one to Colpoda sp., and one as "ciliated". Four identified as Parabodo caudatus, two as Urostipulosphaera sp., one as Helkesimastix sp. , and one as a Euglena-like. The presence of clinical signs was observed in 16 spiders. The intestinal protozoa that affect armed spiders were identified for the first time as an initial step for understanding the parasitic diseases in these organisms., Competing Interests: None., (© 2021 The Authors.)