Effects of different anesthesia methods on labor process and postpartum serum estrogen and progesterone levels in primiparas with painless labor

ABSTRACT Objective: To look into the effects of different anesthesia methods on the labor process and the expression of serum estrogen and progesterone in primiparas with painless labor. Methods: 60 primiparas receiving painless labor were selected as the research objects, and they were divided into either a Spinal & Continuous epidural anesthesia group (n = 30) or a continuous epidural anesthesia group (n = 30), anesthesia is administered using the corresponding anesthesia method. The authors compared serum estrogen and progesterone, inflammatory index expression, pain degree and neonatal health status in different periods. Results: At T2 and T3, serum P, LH, FSH and E2 levels in the Spinal & Continuous epidural anesthesia group were signally lower than those in the Spinal & Continuous epidural anesthesia group (p < 0.05). Spinal & Continuous epidural anesthesia group harbored faster onset and longer duration of sensory block and motor block than the Continuous epidural anesthesia group (p < 0.05). SAS and SDS scores of the Spinal & Continuous epidural anesthesia group were clearly lower than those of the Continuous epidural anesthesia group (p < 0.05). VAS score and serum TNF-α, IL-6 levels of pregnant women in the Spinal & Continuous epidural anesthesia group were memorably lower than those in the Continuous epidural anesthesia group at T2 and T3 (p < 0.05). The total incidence of postoperative complications in the Spinal & Continuous epidural anesthesia group was distinctively lower than that in the Continuous epidural anesthesia group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Spinal anesthesia combined with continuous epidural anesthesia has a better anesthesia effect in the painless labor of primiparas, which can effectually ameliorate the labor process and the expression of serum estrogen and progesterone.

Development of a propidium monoazide-polymerase chain reaction assay for detection of viable Lactobacillus brevis in beer

ABSTRACT The spoilage of beer by bacteria is of great concern to the brewer as this can lead to turbidity and abnormal flavors. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of beer-spoilage bacteria is highly specific and provides results much faster than traditional microbiology techniques. However, one of the drawbacks is the inability to differentiate between live and dead cells. In this paper, the combination of propidium monoazide (PMA) pretreatment and conventional PCR had been described. The established PMA-PCR identified beer spoilage Lactobacillus brevis based not on their identity, but on the presence of horA gene which we show to be highly correlated with the ability of beer spoilage LAB to grow in beer. The results suggested that the use of 30 µg/mL or less of PMA did not inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from viable L. brevis cells. The minimum amount of PMA to completely inhibit the PCR amplification of DNA derived from dead L. brevis cells was 2.0 µg/mL. The detection limit of PMA-PCR assay described here was found to be 10 colony forming units (CFU)/reaction for the horA gene. Moreover, the horA-specific PMA-PCR assays were subjected to 18 reference isolates, representing 100% specificity with no false positive amplification observed. Overall the use of horA-specific PMA-PCR allows for a substantial reduction in the time required for detection of potential beer spoilage L. brevis and efficiently differentiates between viable and nonviable cells.