Changes in Lipid Profiles with the Progression of Pregnancy in Black Women.

Background/Objectives: Lipid metabolism plays an important role in maternal health and fetal development. There is a gap in the knowledge of how lipid metabolism changes during pregnancy for Black women who are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes. We hypothesized that the comprehensive lipidome profiles would show variation across pregnancy indicative of requirements during gestation and fetal development. Methods: Black women were recruited at prenatal clinics. Plasma samples were collected at 8-18 weeks (T1), 22-29 weeks (T2), and 30-36 weeks (T3) of pregnancy. Samples from 64 women who had term births (≥37 weeks gestation) were subjected to "shotgun" Orbitrap mass spectrometry. Mixed-effects models were used to quantify systematic changes and dimensionality reduction models were used to visualize patterns and identify reliable lipid signatures. Results: Total lipids and major lipid classes showed significant increases with the progression of pregnancy. Phospholipids and glycerolipids exhibited a gradual increase from T1 to T2 to T3, while sphingolipids and total sterol lipids displayed a more pronounced increase from T2 to T3. Acylcarnitines, hydroxy acylcarnitines, and Lyso phospholipid levels significantly decreased from T1 to T3. A deviation was that non-esterified fatty acids decreased from T1 to T2 and increased again from T2 to T3, suggestive of a potential role for these lipids during the later stages of pregnancy. The fatty acids showing this trend included key fatty acids-non-esterified Linoleic acid, Arachidonic acid, Alpha-linolenic acid, Eicosapentaenoic acid, Docosapentaenoic acid, and Docosahexaenoic acid. Conclusions: Mapping lipid patterns and identifying lipid signatures would help develop intervention strategies to reduce perinatal health disparities among pregnant Black women.

Dietary fish oil enriched in very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid reduces cardiometabolic risk factors and improves retinal function.

Very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLCPUFAs; C24-38) constitute a unique class of PUFA that have important biological roles, but the lack of a suitable dietary source has limited research in this field. We produced an n-3 C24-28-rich VLCPUFA-oil concentrated from fish oil to study its bioavailability and physiological functions in C57BL/6J mice. The serum and retinal C24:5 levels increased significantly compared to control after a single-dose gavage, and VLCPUFAs were incorporated into the liver, brain, and eyes after 8-week supplementation. Dietary VLCPUFAs resulted in favorable cardiometabolic changes, and improved electroretinography responses and visual performance. VLCPUFA supplementation changed the expression of genes involved in PPAR signaling pathways. Further in vitro studies demonstrated that the VLCPUFA-oil and chemically synthesized C24:5 are potent agonists for PPARs. The multiple potential beneficial effects of fish oil-derived VLCPUFAs on cardiometabolic risk and eye health in mice support future efforts to develop VLCPUFA-oil into a supplemental therapy.

Physiologic and Behavioral Correlates of Energy Intake in Emerging Adulthood: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the RIGHT Track Health Study.

BACKGROUND: Consistent findings have reported that FFM is associated with EI. However, conjoint assessments of physiologic (body composition, fasting serum leptin) and behavioral [eating behaviors and physical activity (PA)] correlates of EI during emerging adulthood have not been examined. OBJECTIVES: We assessed associations between physiologic and behavioral correlates of EI within the context of one another in emerging adults (18-28 years old). We also assessed these associations in a subsample after the removal of probable EI underreporters. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from 244 emerging adults (age = 19.6 ± 1.4 y; BMI = 26.4 ± 6.6 kg/m2; 56.6% female) from the RIGHT Track Health study were used. Measures included body composition (BOD POD), eating behaviors (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire), objective and subjective PA (accelerometer-derived total activity counts and Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire), fasting serum leptin, and EI (three 24-hour dietary recalls). Correlates independently associated with EI were entered into a backward stepwise linear regression model. Correlates that met the criteria of P < 0.05 were retained. Analyses were repeated in a subsample after removing probable EI underreporters (n = 48). Effect modification by sex (male and female) and BMI (BMI < 25 kg/m2, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) categories was also assessed. RESULTS: In the full sample, FFM (ß: 18.4; 95% CI: 9.9, 26.8), leptin (ß: -84.8; 95% CI: -154.3, -15.4), dietary restraint (ß: -35.2; 95% CI: -59.1, -11.3), and subjective PA (ß: 2.5; 95% CI: 0.04, 4.9) were significantly associated with EI. After the removal of probable underreporters, only FFM remained significantly associated with EI (ß: 43.9; 95% CI: 27.2, 60.6). No evidence of effect modification by sex or BMI categories was noted. CONCLUSIONS: Although physiologic and behavioral correlates were associated with EI in the full sample, only FFM remained a robust correlate of EI in a subsample of emerging adults after removing probable EI underreporters.

No secret hiding place? Absence of SARS-CoV-2 on the ocular surface of 1145 hospitalized patients in a pandemic area.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to evaluate the isolated prevalence of real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 on the ocular surface without systemic infection in hospitalized asymptomatic patients and to determine the risk for ophthalmologists and medical staff to be infected by prescreened asymptomatic patients in a tertiary eye care center. METHODS: In this prospective, observational study, bilateral swaps of the conjunctiva in the lower fornices as well as nasopharyngeal swaps were collected in 1145 hospitalized asymptomatic patients of a tertiary eye care center. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was performed for each swap to evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2. Demographic data and potential risk factors for an isolated infection of the ocular surface were noted. RESULTS: Two thousand two hundred eighty-eight (99.9%) of all 2290 tested eyes had negative results in the RT-PCR analysis of the conjunctival swabs. One patient had bilateral false-positive results in the conjunctival swabs. None of the 1145 patients had any positive RT-PCR-confirmed result in the nasopharyngeal swabs. CONCLUSIONS: The risk for an isolated conjunctival viral activity in patients with a negative nasopharyngeal swab-based RT-PCR seems to be absent or extremely low, suggesting no need to perform additional conjunctival swabs in patients with negative nasopharyngeal swabs. Furthermore, the risk of a work-related SARS-CoV-2 infection due to direct contact with preselected asymptomatic patients in an eye care center is very low, especially when additional hygiene standards and safe distances are respected carefully. This might reassure medical staff and reduce the fear of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in blood related to lower body mass in common loons.

We captured 93 wintering adult and subadult Common Loons (Gavia immer) in coastal Louisiana from 2011 to 2015 following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We tested blood samples for exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and measured physiological variables including hematocrit, hemoglobin and total blood protein. PAH concentrations in loon blood differed from year to year and by age class. High PAH concentrations were significantly related to lower body masses in both adult and subadult birds and higher serum protein levels in adults only. PAH concentrations had marginal relations with both hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. The types of PAHs detected also underwent a major shift over time. The PAHs detected in 2011, 2012, and 2015 were primarily low molecular weight (three carbon rings); however, in 2013, most detected PAHs were high molecular weight (four carbon rings). It is unclear what events led to the increase in PAH concentrations and the shift in type of PAHs over time.

The development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in rhesus monkeys: effects of age, sex, and early experience.

We investigated the development of the HPA axis in group-living rhesus monkeys. Forty-three infants were studied from birth through their third year of life; 22 infants were physically abused by their mothers, while 21 infants were not abused. Plasma cortisol levels in basal conditions and in response to a novel environment test were assessed at 6-month intervals. Both basal and stress cortisol increased steadily from 6 to 24 months of age and then dropped. Across all ages, stress cortisol levels were significantly higher than the basal levels. The cortisol responses to stress at 30 and 36 months of age were significantly lower than the responses at all other ages. At most ages there was an inverse relationship between basal and stress cortisol levels. Individual differences in basal cortisol levels were generally stable in the first 2 years and more variable in the third year while the opposite for true for cortisol responses to stress. At the end of the first year, but not later in life, abused infants had higher cortisol levels than controls across the basal and stress conditions. Rates of social interactions with the mother and other group members were positively correlated with basal cortisol levels early in life, and with cortisol responses to stress later in life. Altogether, these results indicate that there are strong individual differences in HPA function, that there is a relationship between basal activity and stress reactivity, and that early abuse has the short-term effect of increasing both basal activity and stress reactivity.