Parturition Period Research Articles

Effects of β-carotene supplementation and age on the oxidative status, production and reproductive performance of grazing ewes

Context There is some evidence that physiological stages such as breeding, pregnancy, parturition and lactation may trigger oxidative stress. It has also been observed in several species, including sheep, that age affects their vulnerability to oxidative stress. Aims This study investigated the effects of supplemental β-carotene and age on the oxidative status of grazing ewes around breeding, pregnancy, parturition and early lactation as well as on their production and reproduction performance. Methods Hundred and four ewes were divided into two broad age groups (young = 1–3 years, and old = 4–6 years). Within age groups, ewes of similar age were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (A1, A2, A3, C) by using a completely randomised block design. The young (n = 13) and old (n = 13) sheep in Groups A1, A2 and A3 were daily drenched with 100 mg, 75 mg and 50 mg β-carotene respectively. Group C was unsupplemented (Control). Supplementation lasted 28 days before oestrus synchronisation; 14 days during oestrus synchronisation (CIDR) and hand-mating; 18 days post-hand-mating; 30 days before lambing; and 15 days after lambing. All animals were grazed on Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum). Six ewes from each group (total = 24) were sampled for blood to measure oxidative and hormonal status during the experiment. Key results Supplemental β-carotene at ≥75 mg/day may act as a pro-oxidant in ruminants under oxidatively stressed conditions such as parturition. Age did not affect the ewes’ oxidative status. The supplemental β-carotene did not affect bodyweight, oestrus parameters, corpus luteum size, conception rate and litter size. Except for a tendency of lambs from supplemented ewes to have heavier weight at 15 days old (P = 0.080), age group and supplemental β-carotene did not affect the lamb mortality rate or weight at birth or 15 days old. Older ewes showed earlier and longer duration of oestrus than did younger ewes. Conclusions Supplementation of grazing ewes with β-carotene should not be ≥75 mg/day, especially at parturition period, because it may work as a pro-oxidant. The older ewes seem to have earlier oestrus with a longer duration than do the younger ones. Implications Caution is urged when administering high doses of β-carotene to ewes during the peri-parturient period.

The Benefit of Counselling to Pregnant Women with a History of Spontaneous Abortion: A Case Report

Background: Abortion becomes a complication that can occur in pregnancy and cause psychological and physical distress. Spontaneous abortion can become trigger anxiety and depression during pregnancy. Midwifery who helps patients in perifer or rural areas need to concern about how to do early detection and counseling to reduce risk of psychological risk which can be elevated. Objective: This report aimed to evaluate the anxiety and depression state with a history of spontaneous abortion in their first pregnancy. Methods: This paper was a case report reporting a patient with a second pregnant condition. This patient has a history of spontaneous abortion in her first pregnancy. Evaluating process with Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) dan Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and follow-up after parturition period. Results: Decreasing scores on HAM-A and HAM-D after counseling helped the patient to release her anxiety and depression during pregnancy. The patient is more prepared about signs and symptoms when she feels uneasy and overwhelmed and protects herself from another distortion cognition from spontaneous abortion. Conclusion: Counselling had benefits to decrease anxiety and depression in pregnant women with a history of spontaneous abortion. Keywords: anxiety, depression, spontaneous abortion.

Influence of Environmental Parameters on the Breeding of an Endemic Malagasy Fruit Bat, Rousettus madagascariensis (Pteropodidae)

The breeding biology of bats is in part regulated by environmental parameters, which in certain cases result in considerable intraspecific variation in reproduction periods. Few details are available on the reproductive behavior of Malagasy bats and this study focuses on parameters related to the mating and parturition periods in the endemic frugivorous and cave-roosting Rousettus madagascariensis (Pteropodidae). The birth period was estimated based on observations of mating behavior and presence of neonates in video recordings made at Ankarana (northern Madagascar) during different seasonal periods in 2017 and 2018. Based on animals captured in the same cave between 2014 and 2022, we also estimated the age of neonates in order to evaluate annual variation in parturition periodicity. Based on video recordings, mating was mainly observed (ordered based on highest frequency) in September, July, and January. This behavior, which generally took place during the dry season, was negatively correlated with temperature and rainfall, and had a low positive correlation with cave relative humidity. With most mating taking place between July and September, one parturition period occurs just before or during the wet season (between December and February), the period of highest fruit abundance in Ankarana. For cases of mating in January, excluding the possibility of sperm storage or delayed implantation, another parturition would occur in mid-April, a time of low fruit availability; however, no neonate was filmed or trapped in April and video recording data indicated that neonates were present between July and September, suggesting a parturition taking place from July to September. Parturition periods show some annual variation and appear to be mainly regulated by climatic aspects including rainfall and principally temperature; however, this variation was less pronounced as compared to other non-Malagasy pteropodid species. Further research on Malagasy fruit bats should focus on possible sperm storage or delayed embryonic development and, if found, associated correlations with environmental parameters.

Quantifying changes in umbilicus size to estimate the relative age of neonatal blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus).

Sharks can incur a range of external injuries throughout their lives that originate from various sources, but some of the most notable wounds in viviparous shark neonates are at the umbilicus. Umbilical wounds typically heal within 1 to 2 months post-parturition, depending on the species, and are therefore often used as an indicator of neonatal life stage or as a relative measure of age [e.g. grouping by umbilical wound classes (UWCs), according to the size of their umbilicus]. To improve comparisons of early-life characteristics between studies, species and across populations, studies using UWCs should integrate quantitative changes. To overcome this issue, we set out to quantify changes in umbilicus size of neonatal blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) around the island of Moorea, French Polynesia, based on temporal regression relationships of umbilicus size. Here, we provide a detailed description for the construction of similar quantitative umbilical wound classifications, and we subsequently validate the accuracy of our classification and discuss two examples to illustrate its efficacy, depletion rate of maternally provided energy reserves and estimation of parturition period. A significant decrease in body condition in neonatal sharks as early as twelve days post-parturition suggests a rapid depletion of in utero-allocated energy reserves stored in the liver. Back calculations of timing of birth based on the umbilicus size of neonates determine a parturition season from September to January, with most parturitions occurring during October and November. As such, this study contributes valuable data to inform the conservation and management of young-of-the-year blacktip reef sharks, and we therefore encourage the construction and use of similar regression relationships for other viviparous shark species.

Validation of non-invasive hormone analysis techniques to assist in the future identification of maternal roosts of ghost bats (Macroderma gigas)

The ghost bat (Macroderma gigas) is the largest microbat in Australia and occupies a large but contracting range. The ghost bat is listed as Vulnerable with a decreasing population trend by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They occupy caves, disused mine adits and rock crevices as daytime roosts but distinguishing which are preferred as maternal roosts is challenging as sampling is difficult, and bats are easily disturbed while roosting. Identification of maternal roosts is a priority for conservation and management purposes, and therefore non-invasive hormone analysis was investigated as a potential tool for the future identification of the cave preferences of pregnant individuals. To validate fecal progesterone metabolite analysis techniques, fecal samples were collected from group housed female ghost bats at Perth Zoo between October and January, during the expected parturition period, over three years. Fecal samples were weighed (0.025 g), extracted with 2.5 ml of 80% methanol and analyzed for progesterone metabolite levels by enzyme-immunoassay. Significant elevations in fecal progesterone metabolite levels were detected in a subset of samples collected from co-housed females prior to parturition but not after, providing biological validation of the hormone analysis techniques. Over the three years, four pups were born with birth dates ranging from early November to late December. The mean fecal progesterone metabolite levels of non-pregnant females was significantly lower than those of pregnant females (206.5 ± 102.9 ng/g and 7003.6 ± 6078.0 ng/g respectively). These techniques can be used to monitor and evaluate the reproductive health of ghost bat populations over time and help identify factors influencing maternity roost fidelity. This data will provide valuable information for the conservation and management of the ghost bat and has the potential to be applied to other bat species.

Multi-Channel Metabolomics Analysis Identifies Novel Metabolite Biomarkers for the Early Detection of Fatty Liver Disease in Dairy Cows.

Fatty liver disease, a type of metabolic disorder, frequently occurs in dairy cows during the parturition period, causing a high culling rate and, therefore, considerable economic losses in the dairy industry owing to the lack of effective diagnostic methods. Here, metabolite biomarkers were identified and validated for the diagnosis of metabolic disorders. A total of 58 participant cows, including severe fatty liver disease and normal control groups, in the discovery set (liver biopsy tested, n = 18), test set (suspected, n = 20) and verification set (liver biopsy tested, n = 20), were strictly recruited and a sample collected for their feces, urine, and serum. Non-targeted GC-MS-based metabolomics methods were used to characterize the metabolite profiles and to screen in the discovery set. Eventually, ten novel biomarkers involved in bile acid, amino acid, and fatty acid were identified and validated in the test set. Each of them had a higher diagnostic ability than the traditional serum biochemical indicators, with an average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.830 ± 0.0439 (n = 10) versus 0.377 ± 0.182 (n = 9). Especially, combined biomarker panels via different metabolic pipelines had much better diagnostic sensitivity and specificity than every single biomarker, suggesting their powerful utilization potentiality for the early detection of fatty liver disease. Intriguingly, the serum biomarkers were confirmed perfectly in the verification set. Moreover, common biological pathways were found to be underlying the pathogenesis of fatty liver syndrome in cattle via different metabolic pipelines. These newly-discovered and non-invasive metabolic biomarkers are meaningful in reducing the high culling rate of cows and, therefore, benefit the sustainable development of the dairy industry.

Accelerometer derived rumination monitoring detects changes in behaviour around parturition

Monitoring cattle for parturition is a labour-intensive task that is often not feasible in extensive environments. On-animal sensors, however, provide a means of remotely monitoring animals, without the labour requirements of traditional observation. This paper explores the use of a rumination algorithm with accelerometer ear tags to observe the changes in rumination around calving. Calving cattle (n = 17) were housed in an intensive calving barn and movement data was collected using tri-axial accelerometer ear tags. A heuristic approach, whereby data was manually visualised to identify ruminating and non-ruminating periods, was used to train a rumination model tailored to each individual animal. Rumination time, as calculated using the rumination model, decreased on 0d and 1d, with a decline in rumination commencing 6 h prior to parturition. These results explore the use of an individualised rumination model for monitoring changes in rumination relative to parturition. Further studies applying this model in various production systems could lead to the development of a universally applicable model for integration with a commercially available sensor system. These commercial tags could subsequently be used to improve the management of cattle around the parturition period, leading to improved productivity and welfare.

Исследование влияния «Промевита», витаминно-минеральной добавки, на производство молока и репродуктивные показатели молочных коров

At the present time vitamin-mineral and energy cows' feed additives made from natural components gain more and more popularity. The work considers the influence of the complex feeding additive "Promevit" on the indices of raw milk quality of cows and also milk productivity and indices of reproduction of animals. At adding the feed additive to the basic diet an increase in haemoglobin level of experimental cows by 21.4%, an increase in erythrocytes by 14.5%, a moderate increase in white blood cells, a slight increase (by 5.2%) in protein content in the blood of experimental cows and an increase by 6, 6% of albumin level, relatively initial indicators, increase of urea content by 23,1% within reference values, decrease of aspartataminotransferase, as well as glutamate dehydrogenase, that shows restoration of hepatobiliary system work. The milk yield of the experimental group cows was 285 kg higher than that of the control group and the percentage of milk fat was 1.3 times higher. On average the mass fraction of fat in milk of the cows from the experimental group was 3.32%, which was 4.2% higher than in the control group. There was a 10.9% increase in the amount of milk protein in raw milk compared to the initial data. The milk fat yield increased by 19.5 kg relative to the control group as well as the protein yield increased by 13.9 kg. With the use of the dietary supplement no complicated forms of hyperkeratosis were recorded in the experimental group cows, while in the control group cows' number increased by 20.7%. The number of teats with uncomplicated forms of hyperkeratosis also increased by 20% relative to baseline data. In the experimental group cows had a reduction of udder quarters with signs of clinical mastitis, the level of latent mastitis remained practically unchanged. A positive effect of the feed additive on the course of the parturition and postpartum period in cows was also noted.

Grouping behaviour of Iberian wild goat during the parturition period in the Iberian System

Grouping behaviour of Iberian wild goat during the parturition period in the Iberian System

Reproductive Biology, Size, and Age Structure of Harlequin Rockfish: Spatial Analysis of Life History Traits

AbstractMany rockfish (genus Sebastes) species within multispecies complexes have lacked basic biological data hindering their fisheries management. In this study, we provide essential information for stock assessment decision making for one of these species, Harlequin Rockfish Sebastes variegatus. We analyzed aspects of reproduction, size structure, and growth of Harlequin Rockfish in waters off Alaska using historical survey data and recent field collections. Results are reported primarily from the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) region, but important findings are noted from the Aleutian Islands (AI). Harlequin Rockfish reached an observed maximum age of 76 years in the AI, a new estimate for this species. Females exhibited group‐synchronous oocyte development; the parturition period occurred in the spring in both regions, ceasing as late as July in the GOA. Females from the GOA had an estimated length and age at 50% maturity of 187.6 mm (95% confidence limits [CL] = 152.0–215.6 mm; n = 318) and 4.7 years (95% CL = 1.6–6.2 years; n = 188), respectively, indicating that the Harlequin Rockfish is one of the earliest maturing rockfishes. We analyzed a 14‐year time series of bottom trawl survey data to examine the relationship between Harlequin Rockfish length and selected covariates. Spatial heterogeneity existed, with size showing a relationship with bottom temperature and ocean color (productivity index) across the GOA. The comparison of Harlequin Rockfish length at age indicated that larger fish were present in the western GOA but variable growth occurred across the region. Our findings contribute to understanding Harlequin Rockfish biology within multispecies management complexes, and our results demonstrate that key life history traits vary spatially, possibly influenced by regional environmental conditions. This study represents the most comprehensive biological examination for Harlequin Rockfish.

Re-Introduction of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in a Disease-Free Region: Impact on the Affected Cattle Herd and Diagnostic Implications.

Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) is one of the most important infectious cattle diseases worldwide. The major source of virus transmission is immunotolerant, persistently infected (PI) calves, which makes them the key target of control programs. In the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, a very low prevalence was achieved, with more than 99.8% of the cattle herds being free from PI animals since the year 2013. In 2017, BVD virus was detected in a previously disease-free holding (herd size of ~380 cows, their offspring, and fattening bulls). The purchase of two so-called Trojan cows, i.e., dams pregnant with a PI calf, was identified as the source of infection. The births of the PI animals resulted in transient infections of in-contact dams, accompanied by vertical virus transmission to their fetuses within the critical timeframe for the induction of PI calves. Forty-eight days after the birth of the first PI calf, all animals in close contact with the Trojan cows during their parturition period were blood-sampled and serologically examined by a neutralization test and several commercial ELISAs. The resulting seroprevalence strongly depended on the applied test system. The outbreak could be stopped by the immediate elimination of every newborn PI calf and vaccination, and since 2018, no BVD cases have occurred.

Ecological Traits of a Common Japanese Pit Viper, the Mamushi (Gloydius blomhoffii), in Kyoto, with a Brief Geographic Comparison

Gloydius blomhoffii is a common pitviper distributed throughout Japan except for Okinawa Prefecture. To understand intraspecific geographic variation of this widely distributed snake, I describe several of its basic ecological traits observed during a 31-year-field survey conducted in the forest of Ashiu, northeastern Kyoto, in the western region of the mainland of Japan, and compare these traits with those reported in previous studies conducted in widespread areas of Japan. Body length of G. blomhoffii in Kyoto was smaller than that in the northernmost range and larger than that in the southernmost range. Sexual size dimorphism in snout-vent length, tail length, and body mass showed the same trends as in other areas. The sex ratio of the collected snakes was biased to females, which has not been observed in other studies. Pregnant females showed higher body temperature than males and non-pregnant females at a given air temperature. Parturition period, litter size, and body size of neonates generally overlapped with those reported in previous studies. Stomach contents were found only in 9.1% of snakes and consisted of rodents, frogs, and newts, which are prey items already known in G. blomhoffii. Although the forest in Ashiu has been incurred drastic environmental degradation, no obvious change in body size was detected over the study period. This study adds information on ecological traits of G. blomhoffii based on a population-level study and will facilitate future intensive field research to understand this common, but still poorly investigated, venomous snake endemic to Japan.

Effects of heat stress on posture transitions and reproductive performance of primiparous sows during late gestation.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of heat stress on posture transitions of perinatal primiparous sows around the parturition period from 72h prepartum to 24h postpartum. The reproductive performance of sows was measured, and the relationship between posture transitions and reproductive performance was also analyzed. Ten primiparous sows were randomly assigned to thermoneutral (TN) (18-22°C; n=5) or heat stress (HS) (28-32°C; n=5) treatments. Posture transitioning, including the frequency of posture change, duration of dynamic posture (DP), and lateral lying with udder to the piglet creep box (PCB) during three periods (72h prepartum, sub-partum, and 24h postpartum, respectively), were recorded. Posture change frequency was significantly increased, starting from 24h prepartum to the onset of farrowing in both the TN (P<0.05) and HS (P<0.01) groups. Moreover, the peak value of posture change frequency in the TN group was concentrated during the 12h prepartum period, positively correlated with the quantities of head-first birth piglets and sub-partum duration, respectively. DP duration increased during the period of 24h prepartum and then decreased sharply (P<0.001 and P<0.05 for TN and HS groups, respectively). The duration of facing the udder to the PCB increased during sub-partum and postpartum TN (P<0.001). The duration of sub-partum (P<0.05) and delivery time of single piglets (P<0.01) in the HS group was prolonged, and piglets from the HS group had a lower weight gain than the TN group both at d10 (P<0.001) and weaning time (P<0.001). In conclusion, HS had obvious adverse effects on nursery behavior and reproductive abilities in perinatal primiparous sows, which resulted in poor growth performance of lactating piglets.

Calcium Administration to Improve Parturition in Dairy Cows

Parturition in bovine consider as a stressful event to the calving cows and calves as well. In general dividedinto three phases. The former involves the endocrinal and mechanical arrangement of uterine and cervicaltissues, embryo and birth the newborn and expulsion of the placenta. Calcium is one of the essential materialsin the body which was found that subclinical hypo-calcemia can highly affect cows and about 47% of themultiparous with 25% of the heifers were affected. Forty animals were selected and divided into two equalgroups, first group treated with intramuscular administrations of calcium, the remained group were injectedIntramuscular normal saline. The result showed there are significant decrease in the time of parturition ingroup administered with calcium as compared with non-treated group.Aim of Study: Evaluate the role of calcium on time of parturition period and some trouble shot during it.

Relationships among lying and standing behaviour, body condition score and milk production in primiparous cows

The aim of this study was to examine the time budgets of 20 lactating primiparous Italian Holstein cows and to determine the relationships between lying and standing behaviour, milk production and Body Condition Score in the first stage of lactation. Parturition period ranged from 15 September to 31 March and in the first seven lactation days all cows were equipped with individual 3-axes acceleration and angular displacement loggers, throughout 150 days for lying and standing behaviour measuring. Body Condition Scores (BCS) were estimated weekly, while milk production (in both morning and evening milking) and humidity and temperature air data were collected daily. Average individual milk yield was 27.3 ± 6.24 kg/d and milking time was 4.95 ± 1.94 min. Individual BCS was on average 3.46 ± 0.30 and standing daily time was 13.5 ± 2.26 h/d. Primiparous cows with BCS at parturition <3.25 quite regained BCS after 20 weeks of lactation, but produced on average 2.3 kg/d (p < .001) less than the other cows. Primiparous cows with standing time <14 h/d in the first 21 days of lactation showed higher BCS than the others cows (+0.11 on average, p < .001), but did not produce more milk (+0.1 kg/d, p = .25) on average and showed smaller Linear Score (logarithm transformation of milk somatic cell count) than other cows. Primiparous cows with standing time <14 h/d had higher number of lying bouts and less minutes between two lying bouts, probably due to a higher cow activity to feeding. Multiple regression on milk production showed a low effect of standing time, but primiparous cows lost 0.34 kg/d (p < .05) for each standing hour. HIGHLIGHTS Primiparous cows with standing time <14 h/d in the first 21 days of lactation showed higher BCS than the others cows Primiparous cows with standing time <14 h/d showed smaller somatic cell count Primiparous cows lost 0.34 kg/d for each standing hour

Biological aspects of juvenile great hammerhead sharks Sphyrna mokarran from the Arabian Gulf

The life history of the critically endangered great hammerhead Sphyrna mokarran was examined using samples collected from commercial fisheries operating in Saudi Arabian waters of the Arabian Gulf. In all, 105 specimens (47 males, 58 females), with a total length (TL) ranging from 67.0 to 236.0cm, were examined between April 2016 and November 2019. All individuals were immature. A neonate measuring 67.0cm TL caught in early June suggested the parturition period of this species was during May and June. Vertebrae under the first dorsal fin from 69 individuals (30 males, 39 females) were processed. Three age groups, from 0+ to 2+ years old, were identified by vertebrae analysis. Based on the relationship between vertebral central diameter and TL, the Fraser–Lee approach was used to back-calculate the growth history of TL. A two-parameter von Bertalanffy growth function provided the best fit to describe early growth of great hammerheads during 0–2.9 years of age based on observed and back-calculated length-at-age data. The asymptotic lengths and k values were estimated to be 256.8cm TL and 0.449 year–1 respectively. This study provides the first life history information of great hammerhead sharks in the north-western Indian Ocean.

Pengalaman ibu nifas terhadap budaya dalam perawatan masa nifas

The influence of culture to the status of public health could not be ignored, health is an integral part of the culture. Ethnographic research results in health the year 2012 at 12 ethnics in Indonesia show the maternal and child health issues related to health culture is very concern. The purpose of this research is to know the experience of maternal childbirth to culture in the care period of parturition. This research was qualitative research with case studies. In-depth interview data collection methods (in-depth interview). Snowball sampling techniques. Participants in this research were the mother of the parturition is the working relic of clinics Paste. The number of participants that is used in this study is as much as 7 participants. The results of this research obtained 3 themes, namely, the knowledge of the participants towards parturition period care, Influence the culture of the community, treatments against the time of parturition, and family support in the treatment period of parturition.

PENGARUH JAMU GEJAH TERHADAP PRODUKSI ASI PADA MASA NIFAS

Production of mother’s milk by several factors one of which is consuming “jamu gejah”. There can partitution mothers consume and do not consume “jamu gejah”. 30 respondent ( 100% ). Based on preliminary study obtained 7 respondent (100%) who consume jamu gejah the production of mother’s milk is smoothly. The purpose of the research to analyze different in the pattern of production quantity of Breast milk on parturition period between mothers who consume and do not consume jamu gejah at Sumber Suko Village and Wonosari field work UPT Health Center Kepulungan, Subdistrict Gempol, Pasuruan regency year 2017. Method of the reserchers is analitic. Design of observational research is where the researchers do direct observation. Independent variable consumption of jamu gejah by the mother of a dependent variable how can the production of breast milk. Design of observational research is where the researchers do direct observation. Population 30 respondent, sample 30 respondent parturition period taken using purposive sampling technique. Method of data collection in the form of observation sheet and the analyzed with a Wilocoxon mann-Whitney Test with a significance level of α= 0,05. Based on the results obtained, the volume of milk production between Breast Milk production volume that consumes an average production of breast milk was 242.2 cc and does not consume jamu gejah average production of breast milk was 178.2 cc has a difference of 64 cc. The test results of the statistic Wilcoxon mann-whitney test retrieved values ρ = 0.000 which means smaller than α so that 0.05 ha are received. So, there is a difference of jamu gejah against the production of Breast Milk during parturition. This research is expected to a childbirth mother her little Breast Milk production could consume jamu gejah, because with the results of the above research gejah herbal medicine consumption affects the smooth production of breast milk.

Dramatic Remodeling of the Gut Microbiome Around Parturition and Its Relationship With Host Serum Metabolic Changes in Sows.

Perinatal care is important in mammals due to its contribution to fetal growth, maternal health, and lactation. Substantial changes in host hormones, metabolism, and immunity around the parturition period may be accompanied by alterations in the gut microbiome. However, to our knowledge, changes in the gut microbiome and their contribution to the shifts in host metabolism around parturition have not been investigated in pigs. Furthermore, pigs are an ideal biomedical model for studying the interactions of the gut microbiota with host metabolism, due to the ease of controlling feeding conditions. Here we report dramatic remodeling of the gut microbiota and the potential functional capacity during the late stages of pregnancy (5 days before parturition, LP) to postpartum (within 6 h after delivery, PO) in both experimental and validated populations of sows (n = 107). The richness of bacteria in the gut of both pregnant and delivery sows significantly decreased, whilst the β-diversity dramatically expanded. The ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes, and the relative abundance of Prevotella significantly decreased, whilst the relative abundance of the predominant genus Lactobacillus significantly increased from LP to PO state. The predicted functional capacities of the gut microbiome related to amino acid metabolism, the metabolism of cofactors and vitamins, and glycan biosynthesis were significantly decreased from LP to PO state. However, the abundance of the functional capacities associated with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism were increased. Consistent with these changes, serum metabolites enriched at the LP stage were associated with the metabolism of amino acids and vitamins. In contrast, metabolites enriched at the PO stage were related to lipid metabolism. We further identified that the richness and β-diversity of the gut microbiota and the abundance of Lactobacillus accounted for shifts in the levels of bile acid metabolites associated with lipid metabolism. The results suggest that host-microbiota interactions during the perinatal period impact host metabolism. These benefit the lactation of sows by providing energy from lipid metabolism for milk production.

Perilaku Harian Monyet Hitam Sulawesi (Macaca nigra) pada Masa Kebuntingan di Cagar Alam Tangkoko-Batuangus, Sulawesi Utara

Crested macaque (Macaca nigra), one of the seven endemic primates in Sulawesi is the most endangered macaque species that has been categorized as critically endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, almost nothing is known about the reproductive biology in associated with the behavioral during pregnancy. The data is important to support a management and breeding programs such as pregnancy diagnostic and conservation program in this species. The research aimed was to study the behavior of the crested macaques during pregnancy. Observations were performed on the 10 adult females of the group of Rambo 1 (R1) which has been habituated at Tangkoko-Batuangus Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi. Behavioral data were collected using focal animal sampling and recorded using instantanaeous sampling on females during menstrual cycling, pregnancy, and after parturition (lactation). During five months observations, a total of 393.63 observation hours were recorded. The results showed that daily activities of the M. nigra during menstrual cycling were dominated by feeding (26.60%), foraging (15.95%), and locomotion (16.16%). Daily activities during pregnancy was dominated by feeding (27.03%), foraging (16.37%), and resting (13.45%), whereas after parturition (lactation) period is dominated by resting (26.12%), foraging (19.51%), and feeding (14.98%). The resting was the most activity in the end of pregnancy and few day after parturition. The diets were collected successfully composed of the fruits (34 species), arthropods (3 species, 2 families, 4 orders), fungi (4 genus), and plants (5 species). Climate was influenced on the composition of the diet, especially on fruit and arthropods. In conclusion, the activity budgets were different during menstrual cycling, pregnancy, and lactation, especially feeding, foraging, locomotion, and resting.