Feed intake and weight and body condition changes of 100% organically fed lactating sows

Energy and protein density of the 100 % organic lactation diet should be increased as early as from 3rd week of lactation onwards in order to minimize the weight loss of the sow during the at least 40 day lactation period. Feed amino acid balance from 22nd day of lactation should match the amount of live weight lost during the first 21 days of lactation. This should be supported by providing the piglets feed attractive enough to ensure their high dry feed intake during the late lactation period

Brief Report: Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies After Exposure to Raltegravir or Elvitegravir During Pregnancy in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 2008–2018

BACKGROUND: The indisputable benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the reduction of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV (MTCT) have to be carefully balanced with the risks of embryo-foetal toxicities due to foetal exposure to maternal ART.The recent report of a potential safety signal with Dolutegravir use in pregnancy and potential increased rate of neural tube defects (NTDs), has raised the question of a potential class effect for Integrase Strand Inhibitors. To contribute real-world evidence we evaluated data on pregnant women receiving Raltegravir (RAL) or Elvitegravir (EVG) in the UK and Ireland. METHODS: The National Study of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood (NSHPC) is a comprehensive population-based surveillance study collecting data on all HIV-positive pregnant women and their children. We collected data on all pregnancies exposed to an ART regimen containing RAL or EVG resulting in livebirth, stillbirth and induced abortion with an expected date of delivery between September 2008 and April 2018. Pregnancies were stratified into three groups of earliest exposure. RESULTS: A total of 908 pregnancies were exposed to a RAL or EVG-based regimen (875 to RAL and 33 to EVG). There were 886 live-born infants exposed to RAL, eight pregnancies ended in stillbirth and nine in induced abortions. Among the 886 live-born infants there were 23 (2.59% 95% CI 1.65, 3.86) reported congenital anomalies, two nervous system defects but no reported NTDs. Of the 33 pregnancies exposed to EVG, 31 resulted in live-born infants with no congenital anomaly and the remaining two pregnancies ended in induced abortion. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of congenital anomalies is consistent with national population estimates for 2008-2016 in the UK. More data are needed on safety of RAL and EVG in pregnancy

Nanotopography mediated osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp derived stem cells

Advanced medical devices, treatments and therapies demand an understanding of the role of interfacial properties on the cellular response. This is particularly important in the emerging fields of cell therapies and tissue regeneration. In this study, we evaluate the role of surface nanotopography on the fate of human dental pulp derived stem cells (hDPSC). These stem cells have attracted interest because of their capacity to differentiate to a range of useful lineages but are relatively easy to isolate. We generated and utilized density gradients of gold nanoparticles which allowed us to examine, on a single substrate, the influence of nanofeature density and size on stem cell behavior. We found that hDPSC adhered in greater numbers and proliferated faster on the sections of the gradients with higher density of nanotopography features. Furthermore, greater surface nanotopography density directed the differentiation of hDPSC to osteogenic lineages. This study demonstrates that carefully tuned surface nanotopography can be used to manipulate and guide the proliferation and differentiation of these cells. The outcomes of this study can be important in the rational design of culture substrates and vehicles for cell therapies, tissue engineering constructs and the next generation of biomedical devices where control over the growth of different tissues is required

HIV treatment in pregnancy

Almost 25 years since antiretroviral therapy (ART) was first shown to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, 76% of pregnant women living with HIV (over 1 million women) receive ART annually. This number is the result of successes in universal ART scale-up in low-income and middle-income countries. Despite unprecedented ART-related benefits to maternal and child health, challenges remain related to ART adherence, retention in care, and unequal access to ART. Implementation research is ongoing to understand and to address obstacles that lead to loss to follow-up. The biological mechanisms that underlie observed associations between antenatal ART and adverse outcomes in pregnancy and birth are not completely understood, with further research needed as well as strengthening of the systems to assess safety of antiretroviral drugs for the mother and HIV-exposed child. In the treat-all era, as duration of treatment and options for ART expand, pregnant women will remain a priority population for treatment optimisation to promote their health and that of their ART-exposed children

Clinical presentation and etiologic factors of hirsutism in premenopausal Iranian women

Background: Hirsutism is a common clinical condition with different etiologies. Many of these patients have frank or subclinical abnormalities in the adrenal and ovarian steroidogenesis. The disease may be associated with other clinical signs of hyperandrogenism. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical features of hirsutism and its etiologic factors in premenopausal Iranian women. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 790 consecutive premenopausal women referred to the dermatology Clinics of Hazrat-e Rasool and Firoozgar University Hospitals and three private dermatology clinics during 2001-2003 with the clinical diagnosis of hirsutism were studied. All patients underwent detailed clinical assessment and transabdominal ultrasonography of the ovaries. Endocrinologic work-up was performed for 285 patients. Results: Hirsutism was mild in 65, moderate in 32.5, and severe in 2.5 of the patients. Positive family history was found in 56.2. Hormonal studies revealed some abnormalities in 35.2 of the patients. Coexisting medical conditions included acne in 70 of the patients, menstrual irregularity in 38.6, androgenic alopecia in 21.3, obesity in 6.5, acanthosis nigricans in 4.9, and diabetes in 0.6 of the patients. Etiology of hirsutism was identified as polycystic ovary syndrome (62.53), idiopathic (35.19), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (0.38), prolactinoma (0.13), and undetermined (1.77). Polycystic ovary syndrome was diagnosed more frequently in women with menstrual irregularity than eumenorrheic patients (97.70 vs. 40.41, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Hirsute patients frequently have either elevated androgen levels or clinical conditions associated with hyperandrogenemia. Eumenorrhea does not rule out endocrine abnormality and particularly polycystic ovary syndrome which is a common cause of hirsutism. We recommend performing endocrinologic work up, investigation of coexisting hyperandrogenic. states, and evaluation of polycystic ovary syndrome in all patients with hirsutism

Psychosocial Workplace Hazards and Workers' Health in Factory Sector

Nowadays, issues on psychosocial workplace hazards have become a hot topic. However, only a small amount of research has been conducted in Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between psychosocial workplace hazards and workers' health which is measured using Body Mass Index (BMI) as well as mental health. Two research hypotheses related to psychosocial workplace hazards, i.e. Body Mass Index (BMI) and mental health were examined. In this study, 105 workers were selected randomly from factories located in Klang, Selangor, and questionnaires were distributed to them. The result revealed that there is a significant relationship between psychosocial workplace hazards and BMI, while there is no significant relationship between psychosocial workplace hazards and mental health. This study serves as a guideline for organisations concerning the relationship between psychosocial workplace hazards with workers' health

Systematically missing confounders in individual participant data meta-analysis of observational cohort studies.

One difficulty in performing meta-analyses of observational cohort studies is that the availability of confounders may vary between cohorts, so that some cohorts provide fully adjusted analyses while others only provide partially adjusted analyses. Commonly, analyses of the association between an exposure and disease either are restricted to cohorts with full confounder information, or use all cohorts but do not fully adjust for confounding. We propose using a bivariate random-effects meta-analysis model to use information from all available cohorts while still adjusting for all the potential confounders. Our method uses both the fully adjusted and the partially adjusted estimated effects in the cohorts with full confounder information, together with an estimate of their within-cohort correlation. The method is applied to estimate the association between fibrinogen level and coronary heart disease incidence using data from 154,012 participants in 31 cohort

Cytokinesis in bloodstream stage Trypanosoma brucei requires a family of katanins and spastin

Microtubule severing enzymes regulate microtubule dynamics in a wide range of organisms and are implicated in important cell cycle processes such as mitotic spindle assembly and disassembly, chromosome movement and cytokinesis. Here we explore the function of several microtubule severing enzyme homologues, the katanins (KAT80, KAT60a, KAT60b and KAT60c), spastin (SPA) and fidgetin (FID) in the bloodstream stage of the African trypanosome parasite, Trypanosoma brucei. The trypanosome cytoskeleton is microtubule based and remains assembled throughout the cell cycle, necessitating its remodelling during cytokinesis. Using RNA interference to deplete individual proteins, we show that the trypanosome katanin and spastin homologues are non-redundant and essential for bloodstream form proliferation. Further, cell cycle analysis revealed that these proteins play essential but discrete roles in cytokinesis. The KAT60 proteins each appear to be important during the early stages of cytokinesis, while downregulation of KAT80 specifically inhibited furrow ingression and SPA depletion prevented completion of abscission. In contrast, RNA interference of FID did not result in any discernible effects. We propose that the stable microtubule cytoskeleton of T. brucei necessitates the coordinated action of a family of katanins and spastin to bring about the cytoskeletal remodelling necessary to complete cell divisio