Precision feeding gestating sows: effects on offspring growth performance and carcass and loin quality at slaughter

A total of 601 pigs from 65 litters were used to determine the effects of closely meeting estimated daily Lys and energy requirements for sows during gestation for three consecutive parities on offspring post-weaning growth performance and carcass and loin quality at slaughter. Sows were assigned a control (static diet composition; CON) or precision (individual daily blend of two diets to meet estimated Lys and energy requirements; PRE) feeding program between d 7 and 110 of gestation for three consecutive pregnancy cycles, starting with primiparous sows (parity 1: 12 CON and 12 PRE sows; parity 2: 8 CON and 13 PRE sows; parity 3: 8 CON and 12 PRE sows). At weaning (20±2 d of age), up to 10 pigs per litter were randomly selected and placed in a pen (1 litter per pen). All pens received ad libitum access to commercial diets in six phases (4-phase nursery, grower, and finisher, respectively). Four pigs per pen were slaughtered at ~125 kg BW for evaluation of carcass characteristics and loin quality. The ADG and ADFI of offspring were not influenced by maternal feeding program in any parity during nursery phases I through III. During nursery phase IV, ADG and ADFI were greater for litters from PRE- versus CON-fed sows (0.70 vs. 0.66 ± 0.03 kg/d and 1.15 vs. 1.08 ± 0.06 kg/d for ADG and ADFI, respectively; P < 0.05). The BW for litters from PRE- versus CON-fed sows tended to be greater by d 66 of age (end of nursery period; 29.7 vs. 28.7 ± 1.1 kg; P = 0.076). Within the grower phase, litters from PRE-fed sows had a greater ADG in parity 2 but lower ADG in parity 3 versus litters from CON-fed sows (0.99 vs. 0.94 and 0.93 vs. 1.01 ± 0.03 kg/d for parities 2 and 3, respectively; P < 0.05). No differences were observed for ADG or ADFI in the finisher phase or G:F in any phase for any parity. Loin eye area was smaller (52.2 vs. 55.0 ± 1.8 cm 2; P < 0.05) for offspring from PRE- versus CON-fed sows. In parity 2, carcass lean yield tended to be less for offspring from PRE- versus CON-fed sows (58.6 vs. 59.6 ± 0.4%; P = 0.051). Minimal differences were observed for subjective and objective evaluations of loin quality. Closely meeting the estimated daily energy and Lys requirements for sows throughout gestation for three consecutive pregnancy cycles improved offspring growth performance (ADG and ADFI) in the final nursery stage, but generally did not affect growth performance in grower/finisher periods or carcass and loin quality at ~125 kg BW.

Successful Outcome Following Hysteroscopic Septoplasty in a Woman with Seven Consecutive Pregnancy Losses

Anomalies of the reproductive tract are common and present in about 3%–5% of the general population and in about 3% of infertile women. In general, they are asymptomatic, but they can also be associated with recurrent abortions or infertility. This is the case of a 27-year-old nulliparous woman presenting with the history of seven consecutive first trimester spontaneous abortions. Since her marriage 10 years back she conceived on repeated times but all the pregnancies ended in spontaneous miscarriage at around 10–12 weeks. Hysterosalpingography revealed a bicornuate/septate uterus. Hysteroscopic septoplasty with concurrent laparoscopy was planned after normalization of the endocrine parameters. She conceived spontaneously 7 months after the surgery. She had luteal phase support with progesterone, cervical cerclage and management of gestational diabetes, and pregnancy-induced hypertension. At 37 weeks of gestation, elective caesarean section was done with the delivery of a healthy female baby.

STUDY OF THE STATE OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IN YOUNG WOMEN AMONG THE POPULATION OF LVIV REGION

In Ukraine, the state of pregnancy in adolescent girls aged 13–17 years is considered early or adolescent pregnancy. The problems of teenage pregnancy are extremely relevant in Ukraine: in ten years, almost 100,000 girls aged 16–17 became mothers, solving the problems of teenage births. The urgency of the problem of pregnancy in young girls gives grounds to consider and treat this issue as a serious social and psychological problem that requires further study and development of measures to prevent it. The purpose of the research is to study the state of reproductive health in young women among the population of Lviv region, determining the frequency of adolescent pregnancy and taking into account the contribution of gynecological pathology and menstrual disorders. A retrospective analysis of the primary medical records of 134 young women was conducted. We studied the frequency of adolescent births, social status, medical surveillance coverage during pregnancy, reproductive history in adolescent women for 4 years in Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital. Analysis of the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy showed that the frequency of childbirth in young women remained stable for four years: in 2014–2017, in the maternity wards of Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital, 134 women under the age of 18 gave birth, which is 0.82–0.98% of the total number of births. A significant majority (p <0.05) of them (78 women) were 17 years old (that is 58.2%) and 84 women lived in rural areas (62.7%); 97 women were not married (72.4%). Only 1/3 (34.3%) of young women were registered in a women's clinic before 12 weeks of pregnancy, and 10.4% of them were not followed up by doctors at all during pregnancy. The study of menstrual dysfunction, namely irregular menstruation, showed the presence of this indicator in more than 1/2 (80–59.7%) out of 134 young women. According to the results of the study, despite their young age, 127 (94.8%) of 134 women were pregnant for the first time, and 7 (5.2%) women had consecutive pregnancy. Among 7 (5.2%) women who had consecutive pregnancy, only 4 (3.0%) had an uncomplicated pregnancy, and three (2.2%) subjects had a history of one (0.7%) silent miscarriage, premature birth, medical abortion. More than 1/3 (50–37.3%) of young women gave birth to children with poor health. The most common cause of reproductive disorders in young women of the main group was prematurity of newborns (37.3%). The data obtained indicate the feasibility of studying adolescent motherhood, which will be especially valuable in the context of developing effective demographic policies.

AYURVED APPROACH TO PUTRAGHNI YONIVYAPADA W.S.R. TO HABITUAL ABORTION DUE TO TORCH INFECTION: CASE STUDY

Pregnancy is the start of an incredible journey that leads to great emotional fulfilment to woman. Pregnancy loss is a physically and emotionally demanding for couples. Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) is also called as Recurrent Miscarriage or Habitual Abortion. It is defined as three consecutive pregnancy losses prior to 20weeks of pregnancy from the last menstrual cycle (LMP). Putraghni is a condition where repeated pregnancy loss occurs because of Artava dosha, Rakta dosha, Ati raktasrava. The article is to understand the Putraghni Yonivyapada w.s.r. to habitual abortion caused due to TORCH Infection and to study the effect of Ayurvedic medicines in the management of Putraghni Yonivyapada w.s.r. to habitual abortion caused due to TORCH Infection. The method is the single arm, open labelled case study of the subject of 27 yrs age having repeated pregnancy loss who has been treated with Shamana Chikitsa throughout pregnancy, Matrabasti and Yonipichu in 8th and 9th months. Pregnancy continued with treatment. Antenatal visits and Ultrasonography observations gave positive outcomes with healthy foetal growth. Patient delivered a full term single live male baby vaginally on 27/10/2019 at 3:20PM with 2.8kg. No birth anomalies were detected. The selected treatment protocol i.e., Shamana Aushadha, Matrabasti and Yonipichu in 8th and 9th month are found very effective in the management of Putraghni Yonivyapada w.s.r. to habitual abortion caused due to TORCH Infection.

Hydroxychloroquine and the Prevention of Pregnancy Losses

Pregnancy loss is a common and devastating pregnancy complication. Recurrent early miscarriage (REM) isdefined as two or more consecutive pregnancy losses during the first trimester of pregnancy. It is a distinct entity and in approximately 50% of these patients, the underlying cause is never established. REM can be idiopathic, i.e. of unknown cause, be related to infections, anatomical or chromosomal abnormalities and can also be related to the presence of autoimmune connective tissue diseases or antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an antimalarial immunomodulator and is currently being investigated for its role in the prevention of idiopathic REM and REM related to antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). In this article we review the evidence that exists to date regarding the use of HCQ in the setting of unexplained REM and REM in relation to connective tissue diseases and aPL and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS).

Association study of AGO1 and AGO2 genes polymorphisms with recurrent pregnancy loss

An Argonaute (AGO) protein within the RNA-induced silencing complex binds a microRNA, permitting the target mRNA to be silenced. We hypothesized that variations in AGO genes had the possibility including affected the miRNA function and associated with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) susceptibility. Especially, we were chosen the AGO1 (rs595961, rs636832) and AGO2 (rs2292779, rs4961280) polymorphisms because of those polymorphisms have already reported in other diseases excluding the RPL. Here, we conducted a case-control study (385 RPL patients and 246 controls) to evaluate the association of four polymorphisms with RPL. We found that the AGO1 rs595961 AA genotype, recessive model (P = 0.039; P = 0.043, respectively), the AGO1 rs636832 GG genotype, and recessive model (P = 0.037; P = 0.016, respectively) were associated with RPL in women who had had four or more consecutive pregnancy losses. The patients with the AGO1 rs636832 GG genotypes had greater platelet counts (P = 0.023), while the patients with the AGO2 rs4961280 CA genotypes had less homocysteine (P = 0.027). Based on these results, we propose that genetic variations with respect to the AGO1 and AGO2 genotypes are associated with risk for RPL, and might serve as useful biomarkers for the prognosis of RPL.

Air Pollution and Preterm Birth: Do Air Pollution Changes over Time Influence Risk in Consecutive Pregnancies among Low-Risk Women?

Since the 2000s, air pollution has generally continued to decrease in the U.S. To investigate preterm birth (PTB) risk associated with air pollutants in two consecutive pregnancies, we estimated exposures using modified Community Multiscale Air Quality models linked to the NICHD Consecutive Pregnancy Study. Electronic medical records for delivery admissions were available for 50,005 women with singleton births in 20 Utah-based hospitals between 2002–2010. We categorized whole pregnancy average exposures as high (>75th percentile), moderate (25–75) and low (<25). Modified Poisson regression estimated second pregnancy PTB risk associated with persistent high and moderate exposure, and increasing or decreasing exposure, compared to persistent low exposure. Analyses were adjusted for prior PTB, interpregnancy interval and demographic and clinical characteristics. Second pregnancy PTB risk was increased when exposure stayed high for sulfur dioxide (32%), ozone (17%), nitrogen oxides (24%), nitrogen dioxide (43%), carbon monoxide (31%) and for particles < 10 microns (29%) versus consistently low exposure. PTB risk tended to increase to a lesser extent for repeated PTB (19–21%) than for women without a prior PTB (22–79%) when exposure increased or stayed high. Area-level changes in air pollution exposure appear to have important consequences in consecutive pregnancies with increasing exposure associated with higher risk.

Exome sequencing identifies variants in FKBP4 that are associated with recurrent fetal loss in humans

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as two or more consecutive miscarriages and affects an estimated 1.5% of couples trying to conceive. RPL has been attributed to genetic, endocrine, immune and thrombophilic disorders, but many cases remain unexplained. We investigated a Bangladeshi family where the proband experienced 29 consecutive pregnancy losses with no successful pregnancies from three different marriages. Whole exome sequencing identified rare genetic variants in several candidate genes. These were further investigated in Asian and white European RPL cohorts, and in Bangladeshi controls. FKBP4, encoding the immunophilin FK506-binding protein 4, was identified as a plausible candidate, with three further novel variants identified in Asian patients. None were found in European patients or controls. In silico structural studies predicted damaging effects of the variants in the structure-function properties of the FKBP52 protein. These were located within domains reported to be involved in Hsp90 binding and peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) activity. Profound effects on PPIase activity were demonstrated in transiently transfected HEK293 cells comparing wild-type and mutant FKBP4 constructs. Mice lacking FKBP4 have been previously reported as infertile through implantation failure. This study therefore strongly implicates FKBP4 as associated with fetal losses in humans, particularly in the Asian population.

Association Study between the Polymorphisms of Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) Genes and Idiopathic Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) refers to two or more consecutive pregnancy losses. It is estimated that fewer than 5% of women experience RPL. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes that play important roles in providing a safe and conducive environment for the stable development of the fetus. In this case-control study, we evaluated the associations between RPL and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MMP-8 and MMP-27. We recruited 375 Korean women with a history of RPL and 240 ethnically-matched healthy parous controls, and we performed genotyping for the MMP-8 rs2509013 C>T, MMP-8 rs11225395 G>A, and MMP-27 rs3809017 T>C polymorphisms. All SNPs were genotyped via the polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. In the genotype frequency analyses, the TT genotype of the MMP-8 rs2509013 C>T (age-adjusted odds ratio, 0.415; 95% confidence interval, 0.257–0.671; P = 0.0003) and TC genotype of MMP-27 rs3809017 T>C (age-adjusted odds ratio, 0.681; 95% confidence interval, 0.483–0.961; P = 0.029) were associated with decreased RPL susceptibility. Moreover, these trends were maintained in the haplotype and genotype combination analyses. Interestingly, amongst the RPL patients, higher levels of homocysteine (P = 0.042) and uric acid (P = 0.046) were associated with MMP-27 rs3809017 T>C. In conclusion, the two polymorphisms of MMP-8 and MMP-27 were significantly associated with RPL risk, both individually and in combination. Therefore, these two polymorphisms are potential biomarkers for RPL susceptibility.