Feeding level and dietary energy source have no effect on embryo survival in gilts, despite changes in systemic progesterone levels

This study was designed to assess the effect of feeding level and dietary energy source on luteal function, systemic progesterone concentration and embryo survival in gilts during early gestation. At Day 0 of pregnancy, 104 gilts were allocated to one of four experimental diets (LStarch: 1.2 × maintenance requirement (M) Starch diet (43.3% starch), n = 31; HStarch: 2.4 × M Starch diet (43.3% starch), n = 21; HFat: 2.4 × M Fat diet (13.5% fat), n = 23; and HFibre: 2.4 × M Fibre diet (7.2% fibre), n = 23). On Day 5 of gestation, no significant difference in circulating concentration of systemic progesterone was seen among the treatments. However, on Day 15 of pregnancy, gilts on the HStarch diet had a significantly lower concentration of systemic progesterone than did gilts on both the LStarch and HFat diets (P < 0.05; 24.8 ± 2.4 v. 32.7 ± 2.4 and 36.1 ± 2.1 ng/mL, respectively). At Day 35 of gestation, there was also a tendency for gilts on the HStarch and HFat diets to have a higher total luteal weight than for gilts on the LStarch diets (7.2 ± 0.2 and 7.1 ± 0.2 v. 6.7 ± 0.2 g (P < 0.05)). No difference in embryo survival was seen among the treatments. From the present study, we can conclude that altering feeding level and dietary energy source did not affect embryo survival, despite the fact that systemic progesterone concentrations were affected on Day 15 of gestation. Also, luteal weight was greater for those gilts on the high feeding level than for those on the low feeding level when fed the same energy source.R. Z. Athorn, P. Stott, E. G. Bouwman, A. C. Edwards, M. A. Blackberry, G. B. Martin and P. Langendij

Parent preferences for peer connection in virtual mental health and parenting support platforms

Social support and connection with other parents can provide emotional, informational, and parenting support as well as increase self-efficacy and reduce parenting anxiety. These peer connections can be integrated in online and app-based (eHealth) family mental health and parenting programs through forums/chats or video group sessions. Little is known about parental preferences regarding eHealth features, yet they could be key factors influencing uptake and utility of programs. Accordingly, the present study aims to examine parent preferences for connecting with other parents in eHealth programs. Parents (n=177) of 0-5- year-old children in the US were recruited on MTurk. Most (86.4%) preferred connecting with other parents in an eHealth program with 73.2% preferring to connect anonymously. If using a forum, 45.5% of mothers were comfortable connecting only with other mothers whereas 54.5% were comfortable connecting with parents of any gender. 80.3% of fathers were comfortable connecting with all parents. Results were similar for videoconferencing. Age, income, number of children, recent stressful events, social support, mental health symptoms, and parenting stress did not predict any of these preferences. Integrating peer connection should be considered in developing parental eHealth programs as it is in line with the preferences of most parents and programs that match user preferences have been shown to have higher enrollment and adherence