Analgesic Effects, Birth Process, and Prognosis of Pregnant Women in Normal Labor by Epidural Analgesia Using Sufentanil in Combination with Ropivacaine: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: The objective is to evaluate the analgesic, labor, and prognostic effects of patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) versus sufentanil in conjunction with ropivacaine in normal labor. Methods: Sixty pregnant women who had a normal delivery at our hospital between February 2019 and April 2021 were included. Pregnant women were arbitrarily assigned to a control group and a research group. Pregnant women in the control group received lidocaine analgesia and PCEA with sufentanil combined with ropivacaine in the research group. Satisfaction with care, fetal umbilical artery blood flow, VAS score, labor and bleeding, neonatal Apgar score and incidence of adverse events were analyzed. Results: First, we made a comparison of satisfactory performance of nursing care. The satisfaction rate of the research group was 100.00%, compared to 83.33% for the control group. Nursing satisfaction was higher in the research group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Following analgesia, PI, RI, and S/D values of umbilical artery blood flow were lower in the research group than those in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The VAS scores at 10 min, 20 min, and 30 min were found to be lower in the research group than in the control group after analgesia, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Bleeding was significantly lower in the research group for all stages of labor, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Apgar scores at 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes postpartum were greater in the research group than in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). As a final note, the incidence of pruritus, hypotension, respiratory depression, nausea, and vomiting was found to be lower in the research group than in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: PCEA with sufentanil coupled with ropivacaine was used to perform labor analgesia. With significant reduction in maternal pain and assurance of labor, ropivacaine combined with sufentanil epidural labor analgesia did not reduce fetal umbilical artery blood flow without extended labor. It could not affect the labor process or the safety of the fetus, which is safe for the mother and fetus.

The protective effects of ritodrine against hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced injury in endometrial stromal cells.

Endometriosis (EMS) is often observed in women of childbearing age and significantly impacts patients' quality of life. Ritodrine is a ß2 receptor agonist applied for relaxing the uterine smooth muscle. Its inhibitory effects on inflammation have recently been noted. The present study explored the protective impact of Ritodrine on hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)- induced injury in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). Human ESCs (HESCs) were treated with Ritodrine (0.1, 0.5 µM) for 24 h, followed by exposure to H/R for 6 h. Ritodrine ameliorated H/R-induced higher reactive oxygen species (ROS), declined glutathione (GSH) concentration and increased production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin- 6 (IL-6), and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) in HESCs. Furthermore, Ritodrine ameliorated the H/R-induced higher nuclear level of nuclear factor κ-B (NF-κB) p65 expression and increased luciferase activity of the NF-κB promoter. In addition, we show that Ritodrine mitigated H/R-induced higher estrogen receptor α (ER-α) expression in HESCs. Interestingly, overexpressing ER-α abolished the regulatory effects of Ritodrine on oxidative stress and the NF-κB pathway-mediated inflammation. Collectively, our data reveal that Ritodrine alleviated H/R-induced injury in ESCs by inhibiting the ER-α/NF-κB pathway.

Structure and Functional Properties of Antioxidant Nanoemulsions Prepared with Tea Polyphenols and Soybean Protein Isolate.

In this study, tea polyphenols (TP) was added to a soy protein isolate (SPI) to prepare nanoemulsions by ultra-high pressure homogenization (UHPH). The nanoemulsions were characterized by a confocal laser scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, dynamic rheometer and size-potential analyzer. The effects of TP on the hydrophobicity, emulsifiability, particle size, potential and antioxidant capacity of the prepared nanoemulsions were investigated. The properties of the nanoemulsions with different concentrations of TP were analyzed. The results indicated that ultra-high pressure homogenization treatment contributed to the formation of the SPI-TP complex that showed higher antioxidant activity. The nanoemulsions with good emulsifying properties and high DPPH scavenging ability at the concentration of TP ranged from 0.15-0.20g / mL. Furthermore, nanoemulsions prepared in this way also had a uniform particle size. Therefore, this nanoemulsions exhibited a good potential to act as an efficient emulsifier.

[PDGF-BB Promotes CFU-GM and CFU-MK Formation and Its Possible Mechnism].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB) on the formation of granulocyte-monocyte colony forming unit (CFU-GM) and megakaryocyte colony forming unit (CFU-MK) and its anti-apoptotic effect on CHRF cells. METHODS: The CFU-GM and CFU-MK of murine and human bone marrow cells were cultured in vitro by using plasma clot culture system. The anti-apoptotic effect of PDGF-BB on CHRF cells and its mechanism were clarified by flow cytometry. RESULTS: PDGF-BB 0-100 ng/ml stimulated the proliferation of murine and human CFU-GM and CFU-MK in a dose-dependent manner. The maximal stimulation effect was obtained at 50 ng/ml of PDGF-BB (P<0.01). Furthermore, PDGF-BB had an anti-apoptotic effect on CHRF cells as shown by the flow cytometry with AnnexinV/PI double staining, Caspase-3 expression and JC-1 detection (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: PDGF-BB significantly stimulates the proliferation of CFU-GM and CFU-MK in vitro, and has an anti-apoptotic effect on CHRF cells.

Determination of endogenous brassinosteroids using sequential magnetic solid phase extraction followed by in situ derivatization/desorption method coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

In this study, a sequential magnetic solid phase extraction followed by in situ derivatization/desorption method was proposed for the fast, selective and sensitive determination of brassinosteroids (BRs) in plant tissues. Magnetic sorbent for quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe method (mQuEChERS) and polymer(4-vinylphenylboronic acid-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) coated Fe3O4@SiO2 (p(4-VPBA-co-EGDMA) coated Fe3O4@SiO2) were prepared and characterized. Using them as sorbents, pigments and hydrophilic interferents were firstly removed from plant extract by mQuEChERS, and then endogenous BRs were selectively enriched by p(4-VPBA-co-EGDMA) coated Fe3O4@SiO2 through boronate affinity interaction. After loading BRs on p(4-VPBA-co-EGDMA) coated Fe3O4@SiO2, instead of directly eluting free BRs, the adsorbed BRs were released by adding 4-(N,N-dimethyamino)phenylboronic acid (4-DMAPBA) solution for in situ derivatizaiton/desorption of BRs based on a transesterification reaction between the boronate moieties of p(4-VPBA-co-EGDMA) coated Fe3O4@SiO2 and 4-DMAPBA, finally the resultant solution was submitted to LC-MS/MS for quantification. The whole procedure of the sequential MSPE could be accomplished within 1h, and the matrix effect to MS signal after the sample pretreatment was estimated to be in the range of 93.0-97.4%. The established method provided broad linear dynamics ranges (1.0-100.0pg/mL) with correlation coefficients (R) >0.9978, substantial sensitivity (limits of detection ranged from 0.27 to 1.29pg/mL), high reproducibility (intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 14.8%) and satisfactory accuracy (recoveries ranged from 74.0%-116.6%). Furthermore, endogenous BRs were successfully detected in one flower of Brassica napus L. (22.5-542.7pg/g fresh weight) and other plant tissues (13.7-289.8pg/g fresh weight).

Maternal hepatitis B virus carrier status and pregnancy outcomes: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) in pregnant women may be a threat for both mothers and fetuses. This study was performed to explore the impact of maternal HBV carrier status on pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study at the Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital of Nantong University between January 1, 2012 and September 30, 2015. A consecutive sample of 21,004 pregnant women, 513 asymptomatic HBV carriers and 20,491 non-HBV controls, was included in this study. The main outcomes of interest were selected pregnancy outcomes including miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth (PTB), gestational diabetes (GDM), intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), preterm premature rupture of the membrane (PPROM), low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) and Apgar scores. The incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes between asymptomatic HBV carriers and non-HBV controls were compared using the chi-square test and logistic regression. P values were two sided, and P <0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: The incidences of stillbirth, PTB, GDM, ICP, PPROM, LBW, and SGA were similar between the HBV carrier and non-HBV groups. The proportion of miscarriage was significantly higher among the HBV carriers than the controls (9.36% vs 5.70%; P <0.001). After using multivariate modelling to adjust for possible socio-demographical variables and obstetric complications, women with HBV carrier status were still more likely to have miscarriage (adjusted OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.23-2.38). In addition, the incidences of other maternal and neonatal outcomes were similar between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Maternal HBV carrier status may be an independent risk factor for miscarriage and careful surveillance is warranted.

A selective pretreatment method for determination of endogenous active brassinosteroids in plant tissues: double layered solid phase extraction combined with boronate affinity polymer monolith microextraction.

BACKGROUND: Brassinosteriods (BRs), a group of important phytohormones, have various effects on plant growth and development. However, their physiological functions in plants have not been fully understood to date. Endogenous BRs in plant tissue are extremely low and the elucidation of BRs functions relies on sensitive detection method. Reported methods for the determination of BRs required large amount of plant tissue, tedious pretreatment process, and were lack of selectivity. Therefore, development of a simple and selective method for the sensitive quantification of BRs is highly needed. RESULTS: We established a pretreatment method of BRs in plant tissues by employing double layered solid phase extraction (DL/SPE) combined with boronate affinity polymer monolith microextraction (BA/PMME). After the initial depigmentation with DL/SPE cartridge, BA/PMME was employed to selectively extract BRs from sample matrix. Uniquely, most sample matrix was successfully removed by BA monolith purification. Using this method, BRs was determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Endogenous active BRs could be detected in only 1 g fresh weigh (FW) leaves or 0.5 g FW flower tissues. CONCLUSION: A DL/SPE-BA/PMME pretreatment method for the determination of endogenous brassinosteroids in plant tissues was developed and validated. The proposed method was sensitive and selective. Besides, it may be further developed for the determination of other BRs including their precursors and conjugates.

Determination of endogenous brassinosteroids in plant tissues using solid-phase extraction with double layered cartridge followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

INTRODUCTION: Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a group of important phytohormones that play vital roles in plant growth, development and a series of physiological phenomena. In order to understand biosynthesis, degradation and metabolic pathways of BRs, a reliable analytical method of BRs with effective sample pre-treatment process is favourable. OBJECTIVE: The development of a quick and effective method for the quantification of endogenous BRs in plant tissue with the aid of double layered solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges (graphite carbon black and primary secondary amine silica sorbent: GCB/PSA). METHOD: The method involved an initial extraction of BRs with acetonitrile, a dehydration process with anhydrous MgSO4 and NaCl, a SPE purification process with a double layered cartridge, and a further clean-up step utilising liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). The purification process was mainly realised on the GCB/PSA cartridge. GCB could eliminate hydrophobic compounds, especially those containing a π system, and PSA was introduced to remove the polar interferences. Endogenous BRs were quantified by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. RESULTS: Good linearities were obtained in the range of 0.4-500 ng/mL (0.0124-15 ng), with the correlation coefficients above 0.9957. The relative recoveries of BRs of this method were in the range of 71.1-113.1%, with intra- and interday relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 16.3%. With the proposed method, the requirement of plant tissue amount was minimised to 1 g fresh weight, which is the smallest amount reported so far, to our knowledge.