Parity Condition Research Articles

PENGGUNAAN METODE KONTRASEPSI PADA WANITA YANG MENIKAH USIA DINI DI KECAMATAN SUKOWONO KABUPATEN JEMBER

Early marriage is marriage before a 25 year old man and a 20 year old woman. Early marriage has an impact on high fertility rates and population growth, and the risk of health problems and even death in mothers and babies. This study aims to determine the factors of use of contraception methods in women marrying early age based on intention factors, social support, personal autonomy and acting situations. This research is an analytic study with a cross-sectional approach. The samples of 107 respondents was selected by simple random sampling technique. Bivariable analysis using Chi Square Test and multivariable using logistic regression test. There was a significant relationship between intention factors, husband's social support, parents' or in-laws social support, social support from health workers, parity, accessibility of contraceptive services with use of contraception methods in women who marry early. Multivariable analysis shows that health workers' social support and parity are the factors most associated with the use of contraceptive methods in women marrying early ages. Intention, social support for husbands, parental or in-laws social support, health workers' social support, certain conditions of parity, and access to contraceptive services affect married women at an early age to use contraceptive methods.

Developmental Dysphonetic Dyslexia Differs From Nonspecific Reading Delay. Evidence From Resting EEG Effective Connectivity at the Sources

We consider the controller synthesis problem for stochastic, continuous-state, nonlinear systems against ω-regular specifications. We synthesize a symbolic controller that ensures almost sure (qualitative) satisfaction of the specification. The problem reduces, after some automata-theoretic constructions, to computing the almost sure winning region—the largest set of states from which a parity condition can be satisfied with probability 1 (on a possibly hybrid state space). While characterizing the exact almost sure winning region is still open for the considered system class, we propose an algorithm for obtaining a tight under-approximation of this set. The heart of our approach is a technique to symbolically compute this under-approximation via a finite-state abstraction as a 21/2-player parity game. Our abstraction procedure uses only the support of the probabilistic evolution; it does not use precise numerical transition probabilities. We have implemented our approach and evaluated it on the nonlinear model of the perturbed Dubins vehicle.

Image Watermarking Based on IWT and Parity Bit Checking

Various document types play an influential role in a lot of our lives activities today; hence preserving their integrity is an important matter. Such documents have various forms, including texts, videos, sounds, and images. The latter types' authentication will be our concern here in this paper. Images can be handled spatially by doing the proper modification directly on their pixel values or spectrally through conducting some adjustments to some of the addressed coefficients. Due to spectral (frequency) domain flexibility in handling data, the domain coefficients are utilized for the watermark embedding purpose. The integer wavelet transform (IWT), which is a wavelet transform based on the lifting scheme, is adopted in this paper in order to provide a direct way for converting image pixels' integer values to integer coefficient values rather than floating point coefficients that could be produced by the traditional wavelet transform. This direct relation can enhance the processed image quality due to avoiding the rounding operations on the floating point coefficients. The well-known parity bit approach is also utilized in this paper as an authentication mechanism, where 3 secret parity bits are used for each block in an image which is divided into non-overlapped blocks in order to enforce a form of fragile watermark approach. Thus, any alteration in the block pixels could cause the adopted (even) parity to be violated. The fragile watermarking is achieved through the modification of least significant bits ((LSBs) of certain frequency coefficients' according to the even parity condition. In spite of this image watermarking operation, the proposed method is efficient. In order to prove the efficiency of our proposed method, it was tested against standard images using measurements like peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index (SSIM). Experiments showed promising results; the method preserves high image quality (PSNR≈ 44.4367dB, SSIM≈ 0.9956) and good tamper detection capability.

Transrectal three-dimensional fetal volumetry in early pregnant mares: Relationships between maternal factors and equine fetal volume measurements

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal, hormonal, and fetal factors on early fetal volume (FV) measurements in mares obtained by three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound. Furthermore, postpartum parameters were explored in regard to their association with early FV. For this purpose, 149 German warmblood mares that were artificially inseminated and confirmed to be pregnant between days 14–16 of gestation, were examined transrectally at day 45 ± 1 of gestation with the portable 3D ultrasound device Voluson® i (GE, Zipf, Austria). FV was calculated by using the extension software Virtual Organ Computer-aided AnaLysis (VOCAL™). Two different mixed linear models were used to analyze associations between the investigated maternal and fetal factors and the FV. Explanatory variables investigated in the first model were: maternal age, parity, maternal weight, and body condition score, type of pregnancy (recipient or biological mother), barren status (lactating or non-lactating), fetal sex, progesterone (P4) and equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) concentrations; and in the second model outcome variables such as gestational length, birth weight, placental weight, fetal sex, and abortion were included in the analysis. The final models revealed a significant relation between FV and eCG (b = 0.011, P = 0.030), as well as with P4 (b = −0.053, P = 0.016), but interestingly P4 was negatively related to FV. Fetal sex showed the most prominent effect on FV (b = −0.256, P = 0.039), with female fetuses being smaller than male fetuses. In the second model none of the investigated parameters were related to early FV except for fetal sex (b = -0.328, P = 0.047), again with female fetuses being smaller. In summary, it was found that FV is related with eCG, P4 and fetal sex, but was no suitable predicting factor for the investigated outcome parameters. Furthermore, the findings suggest that sex specific growth differences exist already in early gestation. The detailed biological mechanism by which P4 and eCG affect fetal size has to be investigated in prospective studies.

Effects of parity and body condition score (BCS) on oestrus expressions and post breeding reproductive performance of Katjang crossbred goat

This experiment goal was to identify the effect of parity and body condition score (BCS) on oestrusexpressions (OE), post breeding reproductive performance (PBRP) of Katjang crossbred andchanges of progesterone (P4) concentration. Twenty-four does were treated with 14 dayssynchronisation followed by visual observation of oestrus expressions (standing heat (SH),mounted by other buck but not standing (MBNS), vocalization (VC), tail swaging (TW), andsniffing of the genital of other buck (SGB)) and blood sampling twice daily up to 72 hours followingControl Internal Drug Release (CIDR) removal. PBRP data was recorded for evaluation whichincluded pregnancy rate (PR), abortion rate (AR), mortality rate (MR), litter size (LS), litter birthweight (LBW) and gestation length (GL). Result revealed that there was no significant effect(P>0.05) of parity and BCS on OE, PBRP and progesterone concentration except for birth weightwhich had been affected by parity. Based on observation of OE of SH, it was found that accuracyof pregnancy prediction was up to 50%. Analysis of OE established reliability of OE in wassequence from SH>SGB>TW>MBNS>VC and onset of oestrus began approximately 33h post toCIDR removal. Analysis of PBRP shown parity?2 had heavier birth weight in single litter size thanparity?3 which was associated with no MR. Progesterone concentration indicated all of the doeswere on oestrus and highly susceptible as early as 48 h post to CIDR removal. In conclusion, thisstudy demonstrated that both non-genetic factors; parity and BCS are very poor in determining theeffect of OE, PBRP and P4 concentration due to limitation of sample size and greater influences ofexternal factors such as weather, extreme environmental condition and farm management. It isrecommended to improve program in future by focusing on enhancing the fertilization rate andreducing embryonic loss for optimum conception rate.

The Error of Tracking Error: Why Active Indexing Makes Sense

<h3>Abstract</h3> <h3>Objective</h3> To synthesise the evidence on the overall and differential effects of interventions based on diet and physical activity during pregnancy, primarily on gestational weight gain and maternal and offspring composite outcomes, according to women’s body mass index, age, parity, ethnicity, and pre-existing medical condition; and secondarily on individual complications. <h3>Design</h3> Systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data (IPD). <h3>Data sources</h3> Major electronic databases from inception to February 2017 without language restrictions. <h3>Eligibility criteria for selecting studies</h3> Randomised trials on diet and physical activity based interventions in pregnancy. <h3>Data synthesis</h3> Statistical models accounted for clustering of participants within trials and heterogeneity across trials leading to summary mean differences or odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the effects overall, and in subgroups (interactions). <h3>Results</h3> IPD were obtained from 36 randomised trials (12 526 women). Less weight gain occurred in the intervention group than control group (mean difference −0.70 kg, 95% confidence interval −0.92 to −0.48 kg, I²=14.1%; 33 studies, 9320 women). Although summary effect estimates favoured the intervention, the reductions in maternal (odds ratio 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.79 to 1.03, I²=26.7%; 24 studies, 8852 women) and offspring (0.94, 0.83 to 1.08, I²=0%; 18 studies, 7981 women) composite outcomes were not statistically significant. No evidence was found of differential intervention effects across subgroups, for either gestational weight gain or composite outcomes. There was strong evidence that interventions reduced the odds of caesarean section (0.91, 0.83 to 0.99, I²=0%; 32 studies, 11 410 women), but not for other individual complications in IPD meta-analysis. When IPD were supplemented with study level data from studies that did not provide IPD, the overall effect was similar, with stronger evidence of benefit for gestational diabetes (0.76, 0.65 to 0.89, I²=36.8%; 59 studies, 16 885 women). <h3>Conclusion</h3> Diet and physical activity based interventions during pregnancy reduce gestational weight gain and lower the odds of caesarean section. There is no evidence that effects differ across subgroups of women.

Hotel Aggregator vs Russian Antitrust Authorities: Perspectives of Upcoming Litigation

The legal battles between aggregators such as Booking.com and antitrust authorities of the European Union (EU) commenced some time ago. Now it is the turn of the post-Soviet countries and the preliminary court hearing between Booking.com and the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) was held on 24 March 2021 in the Commercial Court of Moscow, the subsequent hearing took place on 19 May 2021. The background to the Russian case appears very similar to the European cases. In December 2019, the FAS opened a case against Booking.com regarding imposing a price parity condition on hotels and hostels (accommodation facilities). The FAS accused Booking.com of imposing unfavourable conditions on Russian accommodation facilities. According to the FAS, due to the agreement with Booking.com, accommodation facilities could not set prices lower on other platforms. After two official cautions, the FAS issued an order to Booking.com, compelling it...

The effect of pegbovigrastim on early-lactation disease, production, and reproduction in dairy cows

The objective of this randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was to evaluate the effect of pegbovigrastim (pegylated recombinant bovine granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) on early-lactation disease, milk yield, and reproduction on commercial dairy farms. A total of 1,607 Holstein cows from 6 farms in Ontario and Québec, Canada, were randomly assigned to receive two 2.7-mL subcutaneous injections of either 15 mg of pegbovigrastim (n = 798; Imrestor, Elanco) or sterile physiological saline (placebo; n = 809). The first injection was administered by investigators 1 wk before expected calving, and the second by farm personnel within 24 h after calving, according to the product label. Producers inspected cows daily and using standardized disease definitions, recorded cases of retained placenta, metritis, displaced abomasum, and clinical mastitis until 63 d in milk. Progesterone concentration was measured in serum at wk 3, 5, 7, and 9 postpartum. Cows were examined for purulent vaginal discharge using the Metricheck (Simcro) device and endometritis using the cytobrush method at wk 5 postpartum. Milk production and reproduction data were obtained from farm management software and the national milk recording database. Disease and culling outcomes were assessed with logistic regression, milk production with linear regression, and time-to-event outcomes with proportional hazards regression. All analyses considered parity and pre-treatment body condition score and their interaction with treatment, and accounted for clustering of cows within farm. In a subset of 246 cows, the effect of treatment on metabolic markers (serum concentrations of glucose, β-hydroxybutyrate, nonesterified fatty acids, cholesterol, haptoglobin, albumin, and calcium) was assessed in wk 1 and 2 postpartum. Pegbovigrastim had no significant effects on the incidence of retained placenta, metritis, displaced abomasum, clinical or subclinical mastitis, purulent vaginal discharge, or endometritis. Treatment reduced the serum concentration of glucose, slightly reduced the concentration of albumin, and slightly increased concentrations of β-hydroxybutyrate and nonesterified fatty acids, with no effect on the other markers. There were no differences between treatments in culling risk, time to first insemination, pregnancy at first insemination, or time to pregnancy. Milk yield over the first 3 test days of lactation was 1.0 kg per day lower in the pegbovigrastim group, although a mechanism for that effect could not be explained through analysis of our data.

On the decay problem for the Zakharov and Klein–Gordon–Zakharov systems in one dimension

We are interested in the long time asymptotic behaviour of solutions to the scalar Zakharov system $$\begin{aligned} \begin{array}{ll} i u_{t} + \Delta u = nu,\\ n_{tt} - \Delta n= \Delta |u|^2 \end{array} \end{aligned}$$and the Klein–Gordon–Zakharov system $$\begin{aligned} \begin{array}{ll} u_{tt} - \Delta u + u = - nu,\\ n_{tt} - \Delta n= \Delta |u|^2 \end{array} \end{aligned}$$in one dimension of space. For these two systems, we give two results proving decay of solutions for initial data in the energy space. The first result deals with decay over compact intervals assuming smallness and parity conditions (u odd). The second result proves decay in far field regions along curves for solutions whose growth can be dominated by an increasing \(C^1\) function. No smallness condition is needed to prove this last result for the Zakharov system. We argue relying on the use of suitable virial identities appropriate for the equations and follow the technics of [22, 24] and [33].

126 Impact of Elevating Feed Amounts in Late Gestation on Sow and Litter Performance

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of elevating feed amounts during late gestation on the performance of sows and their pigs during lactation. A total of 419 individually-housed sows were used. Sows were balanced by parity (P2 –P10) and body condition score (BCS, 1–5) on d 90 of gestation to 2 treatments [Control or bump-feeding (BP)]. Within each treatment, sows were fed a common gestation diet according to their body condition: (thin, BCS &amp;lt; 3 = 2.7 kg/day; ideal BCS 3 = 2 kg/day; fat, BCS &amp;gt; 3 = 1.6 kg/day). For sows allotted to BP, feed intake was increased by 0.91 kg/d on d 90. Data were analyzed for main effects of treatment and within body condition category. Bump-feeding decreased lactation ADFI of ideal sows (P = 0.015; 6.53 and 5.99 kg, for control and BP, respectively), but not of thin (P = 0.122, 6.05 and 6.80 kg) or fat sows (P = 0.136, 5.79 and 6.78 kg). The number of still-born pigs decreased when thin (P = 0.005, 1.63 and 0.93 pigs for control and bump-feeding) and fat sows (P = 0.133, 1.74 and 1.13 pigs) were BP. However, this was not observed for ideal sows (P = 0.779, 1.28 and 1.27 pigs). Moreover, piglet birth weight (measured in a subsample of 55 litters) improved with BP (P = 0.048; 1.36 vs 1.55 kg, for control and BP, respectively). The impact of BP on birth weight was more evident for fat sows (P = 0.08, 1.25 and 1.61 kg). This resulted in a greater proportion of small pigs (&amp;lt; 3.63 kg) at weaning in litters from fat sows that were not BP (P = 0.019; 7.41 vs 0%, for control and BP, respectively). In conclusion, elevating feed amounts in late gestation did not improve the performance of ideal sows but it positively impacted the performance of thin and fat lactating sows.

Non-rational beliefs in an open economy

This paper proposes a new theory of exchange rate determination. Under arbitrary beliefs, the exchange rate is determined by an equilibrium restriction which we call the generalized no-arbitrage condition. The pricing function predicts endogenous departures from the conventional rational expectations uncovered interest parity condition. In an empirical open-economy model with learning, using Canadian and United States data, we evaluate whether learning can account for exchange rate dynamics and reduce reliance on exogenous risk-premium shocks to explain departures from uncovered interest parity. Reminiscent of Justiniano and Preston (2010a), we find learning dynamics help explain the persistence and volatility of exchanges rates but generate counter-factual predictions on international macroeconomic comovement.

An epidemiological study of bovine mastitis and associated risk factors in and around Eltarf District, northeast Algeria

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of bovine mastitis, and to assess potential risk factors among lactating cows, both local and crossbreeds, in and around Eltarf town in northeast Algeria. A total of 324 lactating cows were included in the survey, examined for mastitis by clinical examination of the udder and teats and tested using the California Mastitis Test (CMT) to determine clinical and subclinical mastitis. Data was collected in a questionnaire during the farm visit. The overall prevalence was 41.66% (135/324), of which 9.80% (32/324) were clinical and 31.79% (103/324) subclinical cases. Out of 1296 quarters examined, the prevalence rate was 41.04% (532/1296), where 9.25% (120/1296) were clinical and 31.79% (412/1296) subclinical aspects of mastitis. Right Hind teats (RH) showed the highest rate of inflammation (51.54%), followed by the Left Hind (LH) teat in second place (44.44%), Right front quarter (RF; 36.11%) and lastly Left Front (LF; 32.09%). The relationships of risk factors with mastitis status were determined using Chi-square analysis, associations between mastitis and the independent variables, including parity and hygienic condition of the udder, teat and housing of cows were statistically significant (P&amp;lt;0.05) in the univariate analysis. Mastitis prevalence was significantly higher in cows having delivered four calves (87.50%) comparing to cows with less than four calves (28.16%), irrespective of lactation stage. Significantly higher mastitis prevalence was also observed in poor hygienic conditions (38.82%; P&amp;lt;0.05) than good hygienic condition (22.07%). Other risk factors such as breed, age, lactation stage, rearing system, housing system and tick control infestation did not differ significantly (P&amp;gt;0.05). This study indicated that mastitis is a prevalent disease and a serious problem across herds in and around the Eltarf district in Algeria. Further detailed epidemiological, microbiological, and economic analysis studies are required at the national level to tailor existing control and prevention strategies. Regular surveillance measures are recommended.

Some Aspects of Reproductive Performance of Red Sokoto Goat Does Post Synchronization with Prostaglandin F2-Alpha And Progesterone Sponges

A study on reproduction of 52 Red Sokoto Goat (RSG) does was conducted to evaluate some aspects of their reproductive performance for clinical application and as an update. Does were randomly divided into 18, 18 and 16 as prostaglandin F2-alpha (PGF2α), progesterone sponges (P4S) and control groups respectively. Double injection protocol of PGF2α, 12-days apart, and P4S inserted for 12-days were used to synchronize oestrus, while the control group received no treatment. Thirteen bucks were used, seven as breeders and six as heat detectors. Oestrus detection employed visual observation and apronisation. Standing to be mounted was the cardinal sign of oestrus. Breeding was by hand-mating and at detected oestrus. Results indicated heterosexual and homosexual mounting, thin stringy clear mucous discharge and standing-to-be-mounted as signs of oestrus. Oestrus response rate was 100 %, 94.4 % and 75.0 % for PGF2α, P4S and Control respectively; P4S retention rate was 94%. Effect of synchronization agent on on-set of oestrus was 15.86 + 0.73 h (PGF2α), 15.08 + 0.84 h (P4S) and 17.73 + 0.85 h (Control), while parity on on-set of oestrus was 12.12 + 1.87 h (first), 17.77 + 0.77 h (second) and 18.79 + 1.95 h (third). Effect of synchronization agent on duration of oestrus was 44.76 + 2.13 h, 45.78 + 2.46 h and 42.40 + 2.50 h for PGF2Α P4S and Control respectively, while parity on duration of oestrus was 42.26 + 5.48 h (first), 45.02 + 2.27 h (second) and 45.67 + 5.73 h (third). There were no significant differences (P &gt; 0.05) for oestrus on-set and duration. Overall pregnancy and conception rates were 65.4 % and 72.3 % respectively, kidding rate was 76.5 %, abortion rate was 23.5 % and late embryonic mortality rate was 26.5 %. Mean gestation were 146.29 + 1.59 and 146.63 + 1.64 for single and twin births respectively. Age, parity and body condition score of dam had significant effect on litter size (P &lt; 0.05). It was concluded that some aspects of the reproductive performance of the RSG does studied following oestrus synchronization with PGF2α and P4S had clinical application, good and acceptable.&#x0D; Key Words: Reproductive, Red Sokoto, Does, Prostaglandin F2-alpha and Progesterone.

On the number of equivalence classes arising from partition involutions II

In this paper, we consider the pseudo-conjugation and its variations on the sets of partitions with restricted cranks and involutions on Frobenius symbols. We give several partition identities revealing relations between the number of equivalence classes in the set of partitions arising from an involution and the number of partitions satisfying a certain parity condition.

Effects of chestnut tannins supplementation of prepartum moderate yielding dairy cows on metabolic health, antioxidant and colostrum indices

Abstract This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with chestnut tannins (CNT) on metabolic and antioxidant status of prepartum cows along with their colostrum quality. Pregnant multiparous Holstein cows were paired according to parity and body condition score, and assigned either to a diet supplemented with 20 g/d of commercially available product containing chestnut tannins (CNT, n=20) or to an unsupplemented control diet (CON, n=20) for the last 25±2 d of pregnancy. Serum metabolite, insulin and antioxidant capacity indices were measured in blood samples taken at d 25 and d 5 before expected parturition. Chemical composition and IgG concentration were determined in colostrum samples collected from the first milking postpartum. The addition of CNT led to lower BUN (P=0.02) and consequently higher serum glucose (P=0.02) and insulin (P&lt;0.01) concentrations which were associated with lower circulating NEFA (P&lt;0.01) and BHBA (P&lt;0.01) in CNT group than those of CON. The serum paraoxonase 1 (PON 1) activity and total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) were higher at -5 d in CNT than in CON (P&lt;0.01, P=0.03; respectively). Close-up CNT improved lactose percentage and IgG concentration (P=0.03, P=0.04; respectively) and tended to improve percentage of protein and SNF (Solid Not Fat) in primary colostrum (P=0.06, respectively), without affecting colostrum fat and total solid (P=0.98, P=0.43; respectively). Supplementation of CNT in the diet during close-up period did not have adverse effects on metabolic profiles prepartum. Instead, this feeding regimen was more beneficial to antioxidant capacity and colostrum quality than feeding the control diet.

Supplementing organic-complexed or inorganic Co, Cu, Mn, and Zn to beef cows during gestation: physiological and productive response of cows and their offspring until weaning

One hundred and ninety non-lactating, pregnant beef cows (three-fourth Bos taurus and one-fourth Bos indicus; 138 multiparous and 52 primiparous) were assigned to this experiment at 117 ± 2.2 d of gestation (day 0). Cows were ranked by parity, pregnancy type (artificial insemination = 102 and natural service = 88), body weight (BW), and body condition score (BCS) and assigned to receive a supplement containing: 1) sulfate sources of Cu, Co, Mn, and Zn (INR; n = 95) or 2) an organic-complexed source of Cu, Mn, Co, and Zn (AAC; Availa 4; Zinpro Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN; n = 95). The INR and AAC provided the same daily amount of Cu, Co, Mn, and Zn, based on 7 g of the AAC source. From day 0 to calving, cows were maintained in a single pasture and were segregated three times weekly into 1 of the 24 individual feeding pens to receive treatments. Cow BW and BCS were recorded on days −30, 97, upon calving, and at weaning (day 367). Milk production was estimated at 42 ± 0.5 d postpartum via weigh–suckle–weigh (WSW) method. Liver biopsies were performed in 30 cows per treatment on days −30, 97, upon calving, and the day after WSW. Calf BW was recorded at birth and weaning. Liver and longissimus muscle (LM) biopsies were performed in 30 calves per treatment upon calving and 24 h later, the day after WSW, and at weaning. No treatment effects were detected (P ≥ 0.49) for cow BCS during gestation, despite AAC cows having greater (P = 0.04) BW on day 97. Liver Co concentrations were greater (P < 0.01) for AAC compared with INR cows, and liver concentrations of Cu were greater (P = 0.02) for INR compared with AAC cows on day 97. Upon calving, INR cows had greater (P ≤ 0.01) liver Cu and Zn concentrations compared with AAC cows. No other treatment differences were noted (P ≥ 0.17) for cow and calf liver trace mineral concentrations. Cows receiving AAC had greater (P = 0.04) hepatic mRNA expression of metallothionein 1A at calving, and their calves had greater (P = 0.04) hepatic mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase at weaning. Milk production did not differ between AAC and INR cows (P = 0.70). No treatment effects were detected (P ≥ 0.29) for mRNA expression of LM genes associated with adipogenic or muscle development activities in calves at birth and weaning. Calf birth and weaning BW also did not differ (P ≥ 0.19) between treatments. In summary, supplementing AAC or INR to beef cows during the last 5 mo of gestation yielded similar cow–calf productive responses until weaning.

Salivary cortisol as a non-invasive approach to assess stress in dystocic dairy calves

The intensity and the magnitude of saliva cortisol responses were investigated during the first 48 h following birth in newborn dairy calves which underwent normal (eutocic, EUT, n = 88) and difficult (dystocic, DYS, n = 70) calvings. The effects of parity and body condition of the dam, the duration of parturition, the time spent licking the calf, the sex and birth weight of the calf were also analyzed. Neonatal salivary cortisol concentrations were influenced neither by factors related to the dam (parity, body condition) nor the calf (sex, birth weight). The duration of parturition and the time spent licking the calf also had no effect on salivary cortisol levels. Salivary cortisol concentrations increased rapidly after delivery in both groups to reach their peak levels at 45 and 60 min after delivery in EUT and DYS calves, respectively supporting that the birth process means considerable stress for calves and the immediate postnatal period also appears to be stressful for newborn calves. DYS calves exhibited higher salivary cortisol concentrations compared to EUT ones for 0 (P = 0.022), 15 (P = 0.016), 30 (P = 0.007), 45 (P = 0.003), 60 (P = 0.001) and 120 min (P = 0.001), and for 24 h (P = 0.040), respectively. Peak levels of salivary cortisol and the cortisol release into saliva calculated as AUC were higher in DYS than in EUT calves for the 48-h of the sampling period (P = 0.009 and P = 0.003, respectively). The greater magnitude of saliva cortisol levels in DYS calves compared to EUT ones suggest that difficult parturition means severe stress for bovine neonates and salivary cortisol could be an opportunity for non-invasive assessment of stress during the early neonatal period in cattle.

Supplementing organic-complexed or inorganic Co, Cu, Mn, and Zn to beef cows during gestation: postweaning responses of offspring reared as replacement heifers or feeder cattle.

One hundred and ninety nonlactating, pregnant beef cows (¾ Bos taurus and ¼ Bos indicus; 138 multiparous and 52 primiparous) were assigned to this experiment at 117 ± 2.2 d of gestation (day 0). Cows were ranked by parity, pregnancy type (artificial insemination = 102, natural service = 88), body weight (BW) and body condition score, and assigned to receive a supplement containing: (1) sulfate sources of Cu, Co, Mn, and Zn (INR; n = 95) or (2) an organic complexed source of Cu, Mn, Co, and Zn (AAC; Availa4; Zinpro Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN; n = 95). The INR and AAC provided the same daily amount of Cu, Co, Mn, and Zn, based on 7 g of the AAC source. From day 0 to calving, cows were maintained in a single pasture and segregated 3 times weekly into 1 of 24 individual feeding pens to receive treatments. Calves were weaned on day 367 (200 ± 2 d of age), managed as a single group for a 45-d preconditioning period (days 367 to 412), and transferred to a single oat (Avena sativa L.) pasture on day 412. Heifer calves were moved to an adjacent oat pasture on day 437, where they remained until day 620. Heifer puberty status was verified weekly (days 437 to 619) based on plasma progesterone concentrations. Steer calves were shipped to a commercial feedlot on day 493, where they were managed as a single group until slaughter (day 724). Plasma cortisol concentration was greater (P = 0.05) in AAC calves at weaning but tended to be less (P = 0.10) on day 370 compared with INR calves. Mean plasma haptoglobin concentration was greater (P = 0.03) in INR vs. AAC calves during preconditioning, and no treatment effects were noted (P = 0.76) for preconditioning average daily gain (ADG). Puberty attainment was hastened in AAC heifers during the experiment (treatment × day; P < 0.01), despite similar (P = 0.39) ADG between treatments from days 412 to 620. Expression of myogenin mRNA in the longissimus muscle was greater (P = 0.05) in INR vs. AAC heifers on day 584. No treatment effects were detected (P ≥ 0.24) for steer ADG from day 412 until slaughter, nor for carcass quality traits. Hepatic mRNA expression of metallothionein 1A was greater (P = 0.02) in INR vs. AAC steers on day 586. In summary, supplementing Co, Cu, Zn, and Mn as organic complexed instead of sulfate sources to beef cows during the last 5 mo of gestation did not improve performance and physiological responses of the steer progeny until slaughter, but hastened puberty attainment in the female progeny reared as replacement heifers.

Cycle Lengths Modulo k in Large 3-connected Cubic Graphs, Advances in Combinatorics

The existence of cycles with a given length is classical topic in graph theory with a plethora of open problems. Examples related to the main result of this paper include a conjecture of Burr and Erdős from 1976 asked whether for every integer $m$ and a positive odd integer $k$, there exists $d$ such that every graph with average degree at least $d$ contains a cycle of length $m$ modulo $k$; this conjecture was proven by Bollobás in [Bull. London Math. Soc. 9 (1977), 97-98]( https://doi.org/10.1112/blms/9.1.97). Another example is a problem of Erdős from the 1990s asking whether there exists $A\subseteq\mathbb{N}$ with zero density and constants $n_0$ and $d_0$ such that every graph with at least $n_0$ vertices and the average degree at least $d_0$ contains a cycle with length in the set $A$, which was resolved by Verstraete in [J. Graph Theory 49 (2005), 151-167]( https://doi.org/10.1002/jgt.20072). In 1983, Thomassen conjectured that for all integers $m$ and $k$, every graph with minimum degree $k+1$ contains a cycle of length $2m$ modulo $k$. Note that the parity condition in the first and the third conjectures is necessary because of bipartite graphs. The current paper contributes to this long line of research by proving that for every integer $m$ and a positive odd integer $k$, every sufficiently large $3$-connected cubic graph contains a cycle of length $m$ modulo $k$. The result is the best possible in the sense that the same conclusion is not true for $2$-connected cubic graphs or $3$-connected graphs with minimum degree three.

708 The relationship between toxicology-confirmed illicit drug use close to delivery and placental pathology

Illicit drug use continues to rise among women of reproductive age. Tobacco and alcohol demonstrated a strong association with placental insufficiency in prior studies. Less is known about the impact illicit drugs of abuse may have on the placenta. We aim to evaluate the association between toxicology-confirmed illicit drug use within 72 hours of delivery and placental pathology. This is a retrospective study of patients delivered between January 2016 and December 2019. Singleton pregnancies with urine drug screen performed within 72 hours of delivery and placenta sent to pathology at time of delivery were included. Current tobacco and alcohol users were excluded. Placental pathology (PP) findings (divided into vascular malperfusion and inflammation) and neonatal outcomes were compared between women that tested negative for drugs (NDS) and positive for one or more illicit drugs (IDU). Independent t-tests were used to calculate differences in demographics and outcomes. 466 NDS and 52 IDU patients were identified. IDU were likely to be younger (p=.024), white, non-Hispanic (p=.001) and to have a psychiatric history (p=.003). There was no difference in BMI, parity and preexisting conditions among the groups except for thrombophilia, which only occurred in NDS. Gestational age at delivery and antepartum complications were similar among the groups except for gestational diabetes, which only occurred in NDS. IDU were more likely to have placental inflammation (Table-1) however rates of vascular malperfusion were similar among the groups. IDU had lower birth weight (p=.006) and higher composite neonatal morbidity (p=.043) (Table-2). Rates of NICU admission (p=.026), Respiratory Distress Syndrome (p=.026) and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (p=.015) were higher among IDU. Vascular malperfusion was similar among the two groups, which may be accounted for by the higher rate of GDM and Thrombophilia in the NDS group. Inflammation was more frequent in the IDU group. Illicit drug use demonstrates a significant relationship with adverse PP and adverse neonatal outcomes.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)