Early-pregnancy N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide level is inversely associated with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy diagnosed after 35 weeks of gestation.

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are among the major causes of high maternal and fetal/neonatal morbidity and mortality rates. Patients with HDP have significantly elevated N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels at diagnosis; however, the NT-proBNP levels during early pregnancy are largely unknown. This study aimed to validate the association between HDP and NT-proBNP levels. This retrospective study evaluated 103 pregnant women who developed HDP diagnosed after 35 weeks of gestation and 667 who did not. The HDP group had significantly lower early-pregnancy NT-proBNP levels than the without HDP group. However, the two groups did not significantly differ in terms of the late-pregnancy NT-proBNP levels. After adjusting for confounding factors such as age, body mass index, parity, and blood pressure levels, high early-pregnancy NT-proBNP levels were associated with a lower HDP risk. Early-pregnancy NT-proBNP levels ≥ 60.5 pg/mL had a negative predictive value of 97.0% for ruling out HDP, with a sensitivity of 87.4% and specificity of 62.5%. In conclusion, elevated early-pregnancy NT-proBNP levels were associated with a lower HDP risk. Moreover, a cutoff point of ≥ 60.5 pg/mL for early-pregnancy NT-proBNP levels had a high negative predictive value and sensitivity for ruling out HDP. These findings can provide new clinical implications.

Profiling of the microbiota in the remaining sports drink and orange juice in plastic bottles after direct drinking.

OBJECTIVES: The survival of bacteria in the sports drink and orange juice remaining in and at the mouth of bottles after direct drinking was examined after immediately drinking and incubation at 37 °C for 24 h. METHODS: Nine healthy participants were asked to drink approximately 100 mL of a plastic bottled sports drink or orange juice. The samples were cultured anaerobically at 37 °C for 7 days. Genomic DNA was extracted from the resulting individual colonies, and bacterial species were identified using 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. RESULTS: The mean amount of bacteria in the remaining sports drink and orange juice, immediately after drinking, were (1.6 ± 2.3) × 103 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL and (2.9 ± 3.3) × 103 CFU/mL, respectively. Additionally, bacteria recovered from the mouths of the sports drink and orange juice bottles were (2.5 ± 5.5) × 104 CFU/mL and (5.8 ± 2.4) × 103 CFU/mL, respectively. Oral bacteria, such as Streptococcus, Actinomyces, Neisseria, and Rothia were found to be transferred in the sports drink and orange juice, and the bacteria were scarcely detected after incubation at 37 °C for 24 h. CONCLUSIONS: The bacterial levels differed significantly from the previously reported levels in bottled tea 24 h after drinking, suggesting that remaining drinks with low pH levels can be preserved for a longer period.

Microbiota profiles on the surface of non-woven fabric masks after wearing.

This study aimed to characterize commensal microbiota on the skin before and after wearing masks, and to characterize the microbiota on the surface of used masks after 1 week of drying. From the 13 human subjects (age range, 19-26 years), mean bacterial concentrations of (6.1 ± 11.0) × 105 and (1.0 ± 1.4) × 106 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL were recovered from the skin of the buccal areas wiped with a sterile cotton swab before and after wearing non-woven fabric masks for 8 h, respectively. Furthermore (3.4 ± 4.9) × 104 CFU/mL of bacteria were recovered from the mask surfaces. The bacteria contained in the masks, which consisted mainly of Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis/aureus, virtually disappeared after drying the masks indoors for 1 week.

Up-regulation of cytosolic prostaglandin E synthase in fetal-membrane and amniotic prostaglandin E2 accumulation in labor.

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is known to have important roles in labor, but the detailed mechanism underlying the spontaneous human labor remains unknown. Here, we examined the involvement of prostaglandin biosynthetic enzymes and transporter in the accumulation of PGE2 in amniotic fluid in human labor. PGE2 and its metabolites were abundant in amniotic fluid in deliveries at term in labor (TLB), but not at term not in labor (TNL). In fetal-membrane Transwell assays, levels of PGE2 production in both maternal and fetal compartments were significantly higher in the TLB group than the TNL group. In fetal-membrane, the mRNA level of PTGES3, which encodes cytosolic prostaglandin E synthase (cPGES), was significantly higher in TLB than in TNL, but the mRNA levels of the other PGE2-synthase genes were not affected by labor. Moreover, the mRNA level of PTGS2, which encodes cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the amnion was significantly higher in TLB than in TNL. Western blot analyses revealed that the levels of COX-1 and COX-2 were comparable between the two groups, however, the level of cPGES was relatively higher in TLB than in TNL. COXs, cPGES, and prostaglandin transporter (SLCO2A1) proteins were all expressed in both chorionic trophoblasts and amniotic epithelium. These findings suggest that COXs, cPGES and SLCO2A1 contribute to PGE2 production from fetal-membrane in labor.