Human chorionic gonadotropin and GnRH effects on pregnancy survival in pregnant cows and resynchronized pregnancy rates

Dairy Research, 2007 is known as Dairy Day, 2007Experiments have shown human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to be more effective than gondadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) as a means to ovulate follicles. Experiment 1 determined the effects of replacing the first injection of GnRH (day 7) with hCG or saline in a Resynch-Ovsynch protocol on pregnancy rates in cows subsequently diagnosed not pregnant and pregnancy survival in cows subsequently diagnosed pregnant (day 0). A second study determined the ovulation potential of hCG compared with GnRH and saline (Exp. 2). In Exp. 1, cows in 4 herds were assigned randomly based on lactation number, number of previous AI, and last test-day milk yield to treatments of 1,000 IU of hCG, 100 μg of GnRH, or left as untreated controls 7 days before pregnancy diagnosis. Cows found not pregnant were given PGF2α (day 0), then inseminated 72 hours later, concurrent with a GnRH injection (3 herds) or given GnRH 16 to 24 hours before AI at 72 hours (1 herd). Timed AI pregnancy rates tended (P = 0.08) to be reduced by saline (12.9%; n = 505) compared with GnRH (17.9%; n = 703) but not hCG (16.5%; n = 541). Among pregnant cows treated, pregnancy survival 4 to 9 weeks after initial pregnancy diagnosis differed among herds (P < 0.001); but in 1 herd, GnRH reduced pregnancy survival, whereas hCG seemed to increase survival compared with control. Only small differences were detected in the other 3 herds, except for a slight negative effect of hCG compared with control in 1 herd. Ovarian structures were monitored in herd 1 by using transrectal ultrasonography 0 and 7 days after treatment with hCG, GnRH, or saline (Exp. 2). A tendency for a treatment × pregnancy status interaction (P = 0.07) was detected. Incidences of ovulation in nonpregnant cows were: hCG (51.6%; n = 126), GnRH (46.1%; n = 102), and control (28.1%; n = 96), whereas those in pregnant cows were: hCG (59.3%; n = 59), GnRH (24.5%; n = 49), and saline (6.9%; n = 58). We concluded that: 1) initiating a Resynch-Ovsynch protocol 7 days before pregnancy diagnosis with saline reduced timed AI pregnancy rates (Exp. 1); 2) in pregnant cows treated with GnRH, pregnancy survival was slightly reduced in 1 of 4 herds (Exp. 1); and 3) incidence of new corpus luteum (CL) was greater after hCG than GnRH in pregnant cows but not in nonpregnant cows (Exp. 2)

Evaluation of human chorionic gonadotropin as a replacement for GnRH in an ovulation synchronization protocol before fixed-time insemination

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the difference between gonadotropinreleasing hormone (GnRH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) given at the beginning of a timed AI protocol and their effects on fertility. In Experiment 1, beef cows (n = 672) at six different locations were assigned randomly to treatments based on age, body condition, and days postpartum. On day −10, cattle were treated with GnRH or hCG and a progesterone-releasing controlled internal drug release (CIDR) insert was placed in the vagina. An injection of PGF2α was given and CIDR inserts were removed on day −3. Cows were inseminated at one fixed timed at 62 hr (day 0) after CIDR insert removal. Pregnancy was diagnosed at 33 days (range of 32 to 35) after insemination to determine pregnancy rates. For cows that were pregnant after the first insemination, a second pregnancy diagnosis was conducted 35 days (range of 33 to 37) after the first diagnosis to determine pregnancy survival. Pregnancy rates were reduced by the hCG injection compared with the GnRH injection (39.1 vs. 53.5%). In Experiment 2, cattle were assigned randomly to three treatments, balanced evenly across the two treatments (GnRH vs. hCG) applied in Experiment 1. Cows were injected with GnRH, hCG, or saline seven days before the first pregnancy diagnosis of cows inseminated in Experiment 1. At the time of pregnancy diagnosis, cattle found not pregnant (n = 328) were given PGF2α and inseminated 56 hours later. A second pregnancy diagnosis was conducted 35 days (range of 33 to 37) after the second insemination to determine pregnancy rate at the second AI. Injections of GnRH, hCG, or saline had no effect on pregnancy rates of cows already pregnant to the first insemination. Pregnancy rates after second insemination in cows given an injection of hCG or GnRH, however, tended to be reduced. Percentage of cows pregnant after two timed inseminations exceeded 60% without any need to detect estrus

Quantification of phosphorus loss from soil to water.

End of Project ReportThe methods, results and discussion of the project are in five separate sections, 4.1) Phosphorus (P) export from agricultural grassland with overland flow and drainage water (Johnstown Castle); 4.2) Phosphorus export from farm in Dripsey catchment, Co. Cork (NMP); 4.3) Hydrometeorological aspects of farm in Dripsey Catchment (NMP); 4.4) Phosphorus desorption from Irish soils; 4.5) National phosphorus model. Most of the field and laboratory studies were carried out at Johnstown Castle, at UCC and the field site in the Dripsey catchment. The main aim of the project was to quantify the loss of P from soil to water where point source contributions from farmyards were not high. This involved the construction of hydrologically isolated field sites where the quantity of overland flow and the P concentrations for different runoff events from the fields could be measured. In addition, 90 soil samples representative of Irish soils were collected and analysed for the different factors influencing soil adsorption and desorption of P. These results, in addition to catchment data, were used as a first attempt at developing a model that could be used to help predict P loss from soil to water at a catchment scale. The study in the Dripsey was on a farm where water flow and P levels at two points in a stream were measured. The hydrometeorology at this site was also studied. At Johnstown Castle, three overland flow sites, of the order of one hectare each, and one subsurface flow site were studied for P loss to water.Environmental Protection Agency

Contextuality and nonlocality in 'no signaling' theories

We define a family of 'no signaling' bipartite boxes with arbitrary inputs and binary outputs, and with a range of marginal probabilities. The defining correlations are motivated by the Klyachko version of the Kochen-Specker theorem, so we call these boxes Kochen-Specker-Klyachko boxes or, briefly, KS-boxes. The marginals cover a variety of cases, from those that can be simulated classically to the superquantum correlations that saturate the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality, when the KS-box is a generalized PR-box (hence a vertex of the `no signaling' polytope). We show that for certain marginal probabilities a KS-box is classical with respect to nonlocality as measured by the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt correlation, i.e., no better than shared randomness as a resource in simulating a PR-box, even though such KS-boxes cannot be perfectly simulated by classical or quantum resources for all inputs. We comment on the significance of these results for contextuality and nonlocality in 'no signaling' theories.Comment: 22 pages. Changes to Introduction and final Commentary section. Added two tables, one to Section 5, and some new reference

The Crystallography of Color Superconductivity

We develop the Ginzburg-Landau approach to comparing different possible crystal structures for the crystalline color superconducting phase of QCD, the QCD incarnation of the Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell phase. In this phase, quarks of different flavor with differing Fermi momenta form Cooper pairs with nonzero total momentum, yielding a condensate that varies in space like a sum of plane waves. We work at zero temperature, as is relevant for compact star physics. The Ginzburg-Landau approach predicts a strong first-order phase transition (as a function of the chemical potential difference between quarks) and for this reason is not under quantitative control. Nevertheless, by organizing the comparison between different possible arrangements of plane waves (i.e. different crystal structures) it provides considerable qualitative insight into what makes a crystal structure favorable. Together, the qualitative insights and the quantitative, but not controlled, calculations make a compelling case that the favored pairing pattern yields a condensate which is a sum of eight plane waves forming a face-centered cubic structure. They also predict that the phase is quite robust, with gaps comparable in magnitude to the BCS gap that would form if the Fermi momenta were degenerate. These predictions may be tested in ultracold gases made of fermionic atoms. In a QCD context, our results lay the foundation for a calculation of vortex pinning in a crystalline color superconductor, and thus for the analysis of pulsar glitches that may originate within the core of a compact star.Comment: 41 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl

Immediate and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on delivery of surgical services

Background The ongoing pandemic is having a collateral health effect on delivery of surgical care to millions of patients. Very little is known about pandemic management and effects on other services, including delivery of surgery. Methods This was a scoping review of all available literature pertaining to COVID‐19 and surgery, using electronic databases, society websites, webinars and preprint repositories. Results Several perioperative guidelines have been issued within a short time. Many suggestions are contradictory and based on anecdotal data at best. As regions with the highest volume of operations per capita are being hit, an unprecedented number of operations are being cancelled or deferred. No major stakeholder seems to have considered how a pandemic deprives patients with a surgical condition of resources, with patients disproportionally affected owing to the nature of treatment (use of anaesthesia, operating rooms, protective equipment, physical invasion and need for perioperative care). No recommendations exist regarding how to reopen surgical delivery. The postpandemic evaluation and future planning should involve surgical services as an essential part to maintain appropriate surgical care for the population during an outbreak. Surgical delivery, owing to its cross‐cutting nature and synergistic effects on health systems at large, needs to be built into the WHO agenda for national health planning. Conclusion Patients are being deprived of surgical access, with uncertain loss of function and risk of adverse prognosis as a collateral effect of the pandemic. Surgical services need a contingency plan for maintaining surgical care in an ongoing or postpandemic phase.publishedVersio

Evaluation of the impact of hematocrit and other interference on the accuracy of hospital-based glucose meters,”

ABSTRACT Background: Most glucose meter comparisons to date have focused on performance specifications likely to impact subcutaneous dosing of insulin. We evaluated four hospital-based glucose meter technologies for accuracy, precision, and analytical interferences likely to be encountered in critically ill patients, with the goal of identifying and discriminating glucose meter performance specifications likely to impact intensive intravenous insulin dosing. Methods: Precision, both within-run and day-to-day, was evaluated on all four glucose meters. Accuracy (bias) of the meters and analytical interference were evaluated by comparing results obtained on whole blood specimens to plasma samples obtained from these whole blood specimens run on a hexokinase reference method. Results: Precision was acceptable and differed little between meters. There were significant differences in the degree to which the meters correlated with the reference hexokinase method. Ascorbic acid showed significant interference with three of the four meters. Hematocrit also affected the correlation between whole blood and plasma hexokinase glucose on three of the four glucose meters tested, with the magnitude of this interference also varying by glucose meter technology. Conclusions: Correlation to plasma hexokinase values and hematocrit interference are the main variables that differentiate glucose meters. Meters that correlate with plasma glucose measured by a reference method over a wide range of glucose concentrations and minimize the effects of hematocrit will allow better glycemic control for critically ill patients

Bivariate genome-wide association meta-analysis of pediatric musculoskeletal traits reveals pleiotropic effects at the SREBF1/TOM1L2 locus

Bone mineral density is known to be a heritable, polygenic trait whereas genetic variants contributing to lean mass variation remain largely unknown. We estimated the shared SNP heritability and performed a bivariate GWAS meta-analysis of total-body lean mass (TB-LM) and total-body less head bone mineral density (TBLH-BMD) regions in 10,414 children. The estimated SNP heritability is 43% for TBLH-BMD, and 39% for TB-LM, with a shared genetic component of 43%. We identify variants with pleiotropic effects in eight loci, including seven established bone mineral density loci: _WNT4, GALNT3, MEPE, CPED1/WNT16, TNFSF11, RIN3, and PPP6R3/LRP5_. Variants in the _TOM1L2/SREBF1_ locus exert opposing effects TB-LM and TBLH-BMD, and have a stronger association with the former trait. We show that _SREBF1_ is expressed in murine and human osteoblasts, as well as in human muscle tissue. This is the first bivariate GWAS meta-analysis to demonstrate genetic factors with pleiotropic effects on bone mineral density and lean mass

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data