BackgroundGestational hypertension (GH) and preeclampsia (PE) are severe adverse gestational complications. Previous studies supported potential link between elevated liver enzyme levels and GH and PE. However, given the transient physiological reduction of liver enzyme levels in pregnancy, little is known whether the associations of the high-normal liver enzyme levels in early pregnancy with GH and PE exist in pregnant women.MethodsPregnant women in this study came from a sub-cohort of Shanghai Preconception Cohort, who were with four liver enzyme levels examined at 9–13 gestational weeks and without established liver diseases, hypertension and preeclampsia. After exclusion of pregnant women with clinically-abnormal liver enzyme levels in the current pregnancy, associations of liver enzyme levels, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), with GH and PE status were assessed by multivariable log-binomial regression. Population attributable fraction was measured to estimate the fractions of GH and PE that were attributable to the high-normal liver enzyme levels.ResultsAmong 5,685 pregnant women 160 (2.8%) and 244 (4.3%) developed GH and PE, respectively. After adjustment for potential covariates, higher ALP, ALT and GGT levels were significantly associated with the risk of GH (adjusted risk ratio (aRR):1.21 [95% confidence interval, 1.05–1.38]; 1.21 [1.05–1.38]; and 1.23 [1.09–1.39]), as well as the risk of PE(1.21 [1.13–1.29]; 1.15 [1.03–1.28]; 1.28 [1.16–1.41]), respectively. The cumulative population attributable fraction of carrying one or more high-normal liver enzyme levels (at 80th percentile or over) was 31.4% for GH and 23.2% for PE, respectively.ConclusionHigher ALT, ALP and GGT levels within the normal range in early pregnancy are associated with increased risk of GH and PE. The documented associations provide new insight to the role of hepatobiliary function in GH and PE pathogenesis.

Background The Peripheral Arterial Tonometry (PAT) technique measured by Endo-PAT™, is recently introduced for peripheral vascular assessment in youth, primarily benefits from its easy and non-invasive operation. However, the value of Endo-PAT as early indicator of obesity-related cardiometabolic risk factors remains unclear, with few studies focusing solely on Reactive Hyperemia Index (RHI). A wider coverage of Endo-PAT algorithms is recommended to be applied simultaneously in youth. We evaluated the value of multiple Endo-PAT parameters on obesity and cardiometabolic risk indication in school-aged children, in comparison with another non-invasive Brachial-ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (BaPWV) method. Methods This cross-sectional sample included 545 youth (80 with overweight and 73 with obesity) aged 7–17 years. RHI, Framingham-Reactive Hyperemia Index (F-RHI), peak response and Augmentation Index normalized to Heart Rate 75 bpm (AIx75) were measured by Endo-PAT™ 2000 device. Spearman correlations of abovementioned Endo-PAT parameters and BaPWV, with adiposity (weight, waist circumference, BMI, body fat mass) and cardiometabolic indicators (glycemic response, blood pressure, lipid profiles) were calculated with non-linear adjustment on age, height, gender and baseline pulse-wave amplitude (PWA) using fractional polynomials. Analysis was repeated in students with obesity only [median BMI z score: 3.0 (2.5,3.5)] for sensitivity analysis. Results The correlations of Endo-PAT parameters with adiposity measures and cardiometabolic indicators were overall mixed and weak (DBP: r ranged from − 0.20 to − 0.13, others: |r| < 0.1) after adjustment. Except that body fat mass (AIx75: r = 0.52 p < 0.01) and triglyceride level (RHI: r = − 0.32 p < 0.01, F-RHI: r = − 0.21 p > 0.05) was moderately reversed in students with obesity. In contrast, BaPWV showed consistently moderate correlations (|r| ranged from 0.123 to 0.322, p < 0.05) with almost all adiposity measures and cardiometabolic indicators regardless of obesity status. Conclusion Contrary to previous suggestion, various Endo-PAT parameters performed similarly weak for early cardiometabolic risk indication in school-aged children, and less preferable than that by another non-invasive BaPWV method. Despite further investigation is needed to improve certainty of relevant research evidence, innovative technology and algorithms taking into account specifics of young population are worthy of consideration.

A strain of Pseudomonas stutzeri coded 1317 isolated from oil‐contaminated soil was found to grow well in glucose and soybean oil as a sole carbon source, respectively. Polyhydroxyalkanoates containing medium chain length monomers of hydroxyalkanoates ranging from C6 to C14 were synthesized up to 52% of cell dry weight of P. stutzri 1317 grown on glucose mineral media. In mineral media containing 10 g l−1 soybean oil, P. stutzeri 1317 produced up to 63% of polyhydroxyalkanoates containing mainly a novel monomer of 3,6‐epoxy‐7‐nonene‐1,9 dioic acids making up to 63% of the polyhydroxyalkanoates, together with minor monomers of C8 and C10. 1H‐ and 13C‐nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electron impact gas chromatography‐mass spectroscopy and chemical ionization gas chromatography‐mass spectroscopy were used to study the structures of polyhydroxyalkanoates synthesized by P. stutzeri 1317.

BACKGROUND As one of serious pregnancy morbidities, the etiology of spontaneous pregnancy loss (SPL) remains largely unknown. HbA1c levels in diabetic pregnant women are established risk factor for SPL, but little is known about whether there is an association among non-diabetic women when glycemic control levels are within the normal range. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to quantify the associations of maternal HbA1c levels in early pregnancy with subsequent SPL risk in a cohort of non-diabetic pregnant women. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study involving 10773 non-diabetic pregnant women with HbA1c examined in early pregnancy enrolled between March 2016 and December 2018. Pregnant women with diabetes before or during pregnancy were excluded. SPL defined as fetal death occurring before 28 gestational weeks was derived and confirmed based on the medical records. Generalized linear models were used to quantify the associations of maternal HbA1c levels with the SPL risk, reported as risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) after adjustment for covariates. RESULTS A total of 273 (2.5%) SPL occurred. Maternal HbA1c levels were linearly associated an 23% increase in SPL risk (adjusted RR [aRR] per .5% increase in HbA1c, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.01-1.50). Additional analyses using HbA1c of 5.6% and 5.9% as the cutoffs showed an 60% (aRR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.01-2.54) and 67% (aRR, 1.67; 95% CI, .67-3.67) higher risk of SPL, respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed similar results when including the participants with missing medical records or missing HbA1c data. The significant associations were observed even in the pregnant women without overweight, alcohol drinking, family history of diabetes and abnormal pregnancy history exposures. CONCLUSIONS Higher HbA1c levels in early pregnancy of among non-diabetic women were associated with increased SPL risk in a dose-response manner. Our findings support the necessity to monitor HbA1c levels for identifying high-risk of subsequent SPL in general pregnant women, and expand on the growing literature linking overall metabolic health to reproductive and pregnancy health among otherwise healthy women. CLINICALTRIAL NCT02737644

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