Overview on Reproductive Endocrine Aspects in Buffalo

Buffalo is an important worldwide species in terms of milk and meat production as well as draft. The majorconstraints to full exploitation of the productive potential of buffalo are its inherent low reproductive efficiency due todelayed puberty, higher age at first calving, long post partum anoestrus period, long intercalving period, silent heatcoupled with poor expression of oestrus, seasonality in breeding and low conception rate. Reproductive cycles in buffaloare regulated by endocrine-neuroendocrine interactions between hypothalamic, gonadotropic, gonadal and otherhormones. To improve the buffalo reproductive efficiency, the investigation on endocrine aspects is useful to gain abetter knowledge of buffalo reproduction. This review is focused on the information available on various basic hormones(Melatonin, Progesterone (P4), Estradiol 17B (E2), Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing hormone (LH)) and onnew hormones (Inhibin, Glycoproteins associated with pregnancy (PAGs), Leptin) related to reproductive function

Rotational dynamics of optically trapped polymeric nanofibers

The optical trapping of polymeric nanofibers and the characterization of the rotational dynamics are reported. A strategy to apply a torque to a polymer nanofiber, by tilting the trapped fibers using a symmetrical linear polarized Gaussian beam is demonstrated. Rotation frequencies up to 10 Hz are measured, depending on the trapping power, the fiber length and the tilt angle. A comparison of the experimental rotation frequencies in the different trapping configurations with calculations based on optical trapping and rotation of linear nanostructures through a T-Matrix formalism, accurately reproduce the measured data, providing a comprehensive description of the trapping and rotation dynamics.Comment: (21 pages, 5 figures

Adhesion barriers in laparoscopic myomectomy: Evidence from randomized clinical trials

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of different adhesion barriers in the prevention of de-novo adhesion development after laparoscopic myomectomy. Method: A systematic review was performed by searching seven electronic databases for all randomized clinical trials (RCT) comparing the use of any absorbable adhesion barrier (i.e. intervention group) with either no treatment or placebo (i.e. control group) in the prevention of adhesion development after laparoscopic myomectomy. Results: Eight RCT with a total of 748 participants (392 in the intervention group and 356 in the control group) were included. The assessed adhesion barrier methods were: the oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC) in 2 studies, the auto-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) gel in 2 studies, the 4% icodextrin solution in one study, the modified HA and carboxy-methylcellulose in one study, the polyethylene glycol ester trilysine amine solution plus a borate buffer solution in one study, and the polyethylene glycol amine plus dextran aldehyde polymers in another study. Conclusions: Adhesion barriers methods showing the most promising results were: ORC, auto-crosslinked HA gel and polyethylene glycol amine plus dextran aldehyde polymers

On the effect of the temperature-humidity index on buffalo bulk milk composition and coagulation traits

Little is known about the effects of high levels of environmental temperature and humidity on milk yield and quality in buffaloes since this species is known to be more heat tolerant than cattle. However, the distribution of sweat glands and the dark skin color can negatively affect heat tolerance. Moreover, due to increased global temperatures, concerns regarding heat stress and thermoregulation in dairy animals, including buffaloes, have been extended to the northern hemisphere. In this study, the effects of both the temperature-humidity index (THI) and the maximum daily temperature-humidity index (MTHI) were estimated on bulk milk traits, namely fat, protein, lactose, urea content, pH levels, somatic cell score, coagulation properties, and bacteria count. The dataset consisted of repeated data from 99 Mediterranean water buffalo farms, and mixed models were used for the analyses. Supporting the negative correlations observed, bulk milk fat, protein, and lactose content were significantly lower when THI and MTHI were higher. Similarly, milk pH was lower when THI and MTHI were high; however, high levels of THI or MTHI seemed to not be markedly associated with the milk’s coagulation ability. According to both analysis of variance and correlations, the somatic cell score was not significantly affected by the THI and MTHI. This is the first study based on a large dataset that evaluates the impact of high temperature and humidity in Italian buffalo milk and that provides correlations with traits of interest for the dairy industry, i.e., milk acidity and coagulation ability. In general, findings show that the effects of elevated THI and heat stress on bulk milk quality in buffalo is less evident than in cattle. These preliminary results intend to open debate on the issue of heat stress in dairy buffaloes that are reared in temperate regions. Further studies should focus on individual milk and performance and should investigate the relationship between high THI and buffalo fertility, behavior, and welfare

Characteristics and patterns of care of endometrial cancer before and during COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has correlated with the disruption of screening activities and diagnostic assessments. Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies and it is often detected at an early stage, because it frequently produces symptoms. Here, we aim to investigate the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients. Methods: This is a retrospective study involving 54 centers in Italy. We evaluated patterns of presentation and treatment of EC patients before (period 1: March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and during (period 2: April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) the COVID-19 outbreak. Results: Medical records of 5,164 EC patients have been retrieved: 2,718 and 2,446 women treated in period 1 and period 2, respectively. Surgery was the mainstay of treatment in both periods (p=0.356). Nodal assessment was omitted in 689 (27.3%) and 484 (21.2%) patients treated in period 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.001). While, the prevalence of patients undergoing sentinel node mapping (with or without backup lymphadenectomy) has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic (46.7% in period 1 vs. 52.8% in period 2; p<0.001). Overall, 1,280 (50.4%) and 1,021 (44.7%) patients had no adjuvant therapy in period 1 and 2, respectively (p<0.001). Adjuvant therapy use has increased during COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.001). Conclusion: Our data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the characteristics and patterns of care of EC patients. These findings highlight the need to implement healthcare services during the pandemic

Photoionisation and structures of jet-formed toluene clusters

a b s t r a c t Here we report an experimental and computational study of toluene clusters that were formed in a He supersonic jet. A tunable vacuum ultraviolet radiation source was used to measure the ionisation potentials of dimers, trimers and tetramers from the onset of their photoionisation efficiency curves. DFT calculations were performed for different structures of stacked and non-stacked dimers and trimers as well as for a fully-stacked tetramer. Through comparison of the measured and calculated ionisation potentials, we show that under our experimental conditions, toluene nucleation starts from stacked dimers and proceeds through non-stacked trimers and tetramers

Study of milkability and its relation with milk yield and somatic cell in mediterranean Italian water buffalo

Milkability is defined as the ability of an animal to give a regular, complete, and rapid milk secretion by the mammary gland in response to a proper milking technique. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of milkability pattern with milk yield and somatic cell score in buffaloes. Milk yield and milkability can be observed through the milk flow profiles recorded by an electronic milkmeter (Lactocorder). A total of 2,288 milk flow curves of Mediterranean Italian buffaloes were used for one-way analysis of variance, and eight milk emission patterns were studied. The most represented milk flow curve was type 3 (27.32%), followed by type 6 (17.79%) characterized by a very long plateau phase. The less represented curve was type 1 (4.41%) characterized by long lag time and low peak flow rate. According to analysis of variance, milk yield ranged from 2.21 to 5.22 kg per milking for types 1 and 6, respectively, whereas the peak flow rate was minimum (0.50 kg/min) and maximum (1.73 kg/min) for types 1 and 4, respectively. The total milking time was on average 11.29 ± 3.68 min; lag time and milk emission time averaged 2.19 ± 2.34 min and 4.30 ± 2.33 min, respectively. The 12.5% (n = 286) of total curves were classified as bimodal and 60 of these were found in type 4. Based on literature, type 4 curves are representative of very short teat canals and very high milk flow. Average somatic cell score was 3.63 ± 1.67 units, with maximum least-squares mean found for type 1 and minimum for type 6. Buffaloes showing curves of type 5 and 6 were characterized by the greatest milk yield at milking, lowest somatic cell score, and lowest milking time. Results of the present study evidenced that such traits could be used in the dairy buffaloes as indicators to improve udder health and milkability

“U.V.-broadband light scattering measurements during metallic particle formation in combustion-like environment”

The thermal evolution of aqueous solution droplets of lead and nickel nitrate was studied experimentally in a drop-tube furnace operated up to 1300 K. Dimensions and physico-chemical properties of the droplets/particles were obtained by coupling the analysis of the spectra of ultraviolet light scattered by the produced aerosol with scanning electron microscopy and numerical simulation of the scattering spectra by Mie theory. Lead nitrate forms solid hollow particles with sizes of the order of the original droplets during the drying process, whereas at higher temperature it decomposes, forming spherical micrometer-sized particles of lead oxide and even submicrometer-sized particles of pure lead. Nickel nitrate never forms solid particles owing to its high solubility in water but precipitates as nickel hydroxide particles in the temperature range where this intermediate decomposition product is formed. At higher temperatures the decomposition of nickel hydroxide and the formation of oxide particles in the micrometer size range is observed. The mutual interaction of the salt properties were analyzed by studying the behavior of a lead-nickel nitrate mixture in the drop-tube reactor. The main peculiarity of the mixture evolution is the formation of composite particles of lead nitrate in a nickel hydroxide shell. The combined use of in situ ultraviolet spectral scattering and ex-situ scanning electron microscopy, along with the simulations of the scattering spectra by Mie theory, allows us to compile a database of scattering spectra attributed to specific droplets or particles of given chemical properties and size which may be useful for the continuous detection and speciation of metallic aerosols at the exit of real plants

Artificial insemination studies and effect of progesteron releasing intravaginal device (PRID) treatment onconception rate in Anatolian buffaloes

Bu çalışma, Anadolu manda ineklerinde sun'i tohumlama uygulamak ve kızgınlıkları senkronize etmek için PRID (Progesteron Releasing Intravaginal Device) uygulamanın etkilerini araştırmak için planlanmıştır. Denme materyalini, en az bir defa doğurmuş 141 adet siklik olmıyan Anadolu manda ineği ve 2 italyan boğasından sağlanan semen oluşturmuştur. Kızgınlık senkronizasyonu için PRID kullanılmıştır. Her inek 10 gün uterusta tutulan PRID geri alındıktan 48, 72. ve 96 saat sonra 3 defa sun'i olarak tohumlanmışlardır. Uygulama 5 farklı mevsimde gerçekleştirilmiştir; Nisan 2002 (1. grup), Kasım 2002 (2. grup), Nisan 2003 (3. grup), Kasım 2003 (4. grup), Nisan 2004 (5. grup). Döl tutma oranlarının hesaplanmasında, tohumlamayı izliyen 90. günde gebe olan inekler esas alınmıştır. Döl tutma oranları tohumlama gruplarında sırası ile %45.5, %17.2, %58.6, %12.5, %46.7 olarak (ortalama %36.9) belirlenmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda, siklik olmıyan manda oranının yüksek olduğu yerlerde kızgınlık senkronizasyonunda ve sun'i tohumlama programlarında PRID 'in tercih edilebilecek bir uygulama olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır.This experiment was designed to implement articical insemination (Al) and investigate to effects of progesterone releasing intravaginal device (PRID) treatment on conception rate in buffalo cows. The material of the study was formed with as a total of 141 non pregnant multiparous non-cyclic Anatolian buffalo cows and semen from two Italian bulls. PRID had been used for estrus synchronization. Each cow was artificially inseminated in 3 times after removing of PRID from the uterine which it had been kept for 10 days in the uterine, at 48th, 72nd and 96th hours with 2 doses semen after the removing of PRID. Application was realized at 5 seperate season; April 2002 (group 1), November 2002 (group 2), April 2003 (Group 3), November 2003 (group 4), April 2004 (group 5). Cows which it had understood that they were pregnant at 90th days after insemination were based in calculating of conception rates. In 1st, 2nd , 3rd , 4th and 5th insemination groups conception percentages were 45.5%, 17.2%, 58.6%, 12.5%,, 46.7% respectively (average 36.9%) At the end of the research it was concluded that, PRID would be the preferred treatment in circumstances where a relatively high proportion of buffaloes are non-cyclic at the time of an oestrus synchronization and Al program