Induction of oestrus in ewes of the rare Greek breeds Skopelos, Zakynthos, Kymi - Electrical resistance of cervical mucous

Σκοπός της μελέτης ήταν η αξιολόγηση της ανταπόκρισης στην αγωγή για πρόκληση οίστρου σε προβατίνες των φυλών Σκοπέλου, Ζακύνθου και Κύμης. Επίσης, διερευνήθηκε η δυνατότητα προσδιορισμού της ηλεκτρικής αντίστασης της τραχηλικής βλέννας για προσδιορισμό προβατίνων σε οίστρο. Η πρόκληση οίστρου έγινε με ενδοκολπική τοποθέτηση σπόγγων εμποτισμένων με 60 mg οξικής μεδροξυπρογεστερόνης επί 12 ημέρες [προβατίνες Σκοπέλου (n=17), Ζακύνθου (n=18), Κύμης (n=22)], ακολουθούμενη από ενδομυϊκή ένεση 400 IU ίππειας χοριακής γοναδοτροπίνης. Δείγματα αίματος, για προσδιορισμό της συγκέντρωσης οιστραδιόλης 17β και προγεστερόνης, συλλέχθηκαν 10 ημέρες πριν από την εισαγωγή των σπόγγων, κατά την εισαγωγή και την αφαίρεση αυτών και τον οίστρο. Η ηλεκτρική αντίσταση τραχηλικής βλέννας προσδιορίστηκε αμέσως μόλις οι προβατίνες ανιχνεύτηκαν σε οίστρο και, τελικά, πραγματοποιήθηκαν ελεύθερες οχείες. Η αναλογία προβατίνων που εκδήλωσαν οίστρο στα ζώα φυλής Ζακύνθου (100%), ήταν μεγαλύτερη από αυτήν στα ζώα φυλής Κύμης (64%) ή Σκοπέλου (78%). Το ποσοστό εγκυμοσύνης κυμάνθηκε από 50% (προβατίνες Κύμης) έως 67% (προβατίνες Σκοπέλου). Σε προβατίνες που κυοφόρησαν, η ηλεκτρική αντίσταση τραχηλικής βλέννας ήταν σημαντικά μικρότερη από αυτήν σε προβατίνες που δεν ήταν έγκυες τελικά. Λαμβάνονταν υπόψη τη συγκέντρωση της προγεστερόνης 10 ημέρες πριν την εισαγωγή των σπόγγων και κατά την εισαγωγή αυτών, οι προβατίνες της φυλής Κύμης βρίσκονταν σε άνοιστρο, ενώ αυτές των φυλών Σκοπέλου και Ζακύνθου βρίσκονταν σε οιστρική περίοδο. Η συγκέντρωση της προγεστερόνης κατά την αφαίρεση των σπόγγων και της οιστραδιόλης-17β κατά τον οίστρο, στις προβατίνες της φυλής Ζακύνθου που κυοφόρησαν, ήταν σημαντικά μεγαλύτερη από τις αντίστοιχες σε αυτές που δεν κυοφόρησαν. Επίσης, η συγκέντρωση της προγεστερόνης κατά την εισαγωγή των σπόγγων ήταν σημαντικά μεγαλύτερη σε όλες τις προβατίνες που κυοφόρησαν σε σύγκριση με αυτές που δεν κυοφόρησαν. Σημαντικές διαφορές παρατηρήθηκαν στις συγκεντρώσεις της προγεστερόνης και της οιστραδιόλης 17β μεταξύ των τριών φυλών, σε διάφορες φάσεις του πειραματισμού. Συμπεραίνεται ότι, οι προβατίνες των σπάνιων φυλών ανταποκρίθηκαν ικανοποιητικά στην αγωγή πρόκλησης οίστρου. Το ορμονικό πρότυπο των προβατίνων κατά την εισαγωγή των σπόγγων είναι σημαντικό για την κυοφορία. Η μέτρηση της ηλεκτρικής αντίστασης της τραχηλικής βλέννας θα μπορούσε να χρησιμοποιηθεί για την εντόπιση των προβατίνων που θα οχευθούν, ακόμα και στην περίπτωση που χρησιμοποιούνται κριοί για την ανίχνευση των οίστρων.Objective of the study was the investigation of the response of Skopelos, Zakynthos and Kymi ewes to oestrus induction treatment. Furthermore, feasibility of measuring electrical resistance of cervical mucus for oestrus detection was examined. Oestrus was induced by intravaginal insertion of sponges impregnated with 60 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate for 12 days [groups: Skopelos (n=17), Zakynthos (n=18), Kymi (n=22)], followed by intramuscular injection of 400 iu equine chorionic gonadotropins) at the time of withdrawal. Blood samples were collected 10 days before sponge insertion, at insertion and withdrawal and at oestrus for measurement of oestradiol 17-β and progesterone concentration. Electrical resistance of cervical mucus was measured after οestrus detection, then ewes were mated. Proportion of Zakynthos ewes (100%) in oestrus was greater than that of Kymi (64%) or Skopelos (78%) ewes. Pregnancy rate ranged from 50% (Kymi ewes) to 67% (Skopelos ewes). Electrical resistance of cervical mucus of ewes that conceived was significantly smaller than of those that did not. Based on results of progesterone blood concentration measurement 10 days before and at sponge insertion, only Kymi ewes were at full anoestrus, whilst Zakynthos and Skopelos ewes were in the breeding season. Progesterone blood concentration at sponge withdrawal and oestradiol 17-β blood concentration at oestrus were significantly greater in Zakynthos ewes that conceived compared to those in ewes that did not conceive. Furthermore, progesterone concentration at sponge insertion was significantly greater in all ewes that conceived compared to that in ewes that did not. There were significant differences in oestradiol-17β and progesterone blood concentrations among breeds and at the various time-points of blood collection. It is concluded that response of the above sheep breeds to oestrus induction was satisfactory. Hormonal status of ewes during sponge insertion is of importance for conception. Measurement of electrical resistance of cervical mucus could be useful for selection of ewes for mating, even if rams used to detect oestrous

Daytime symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:a systematic review

There is no single source of compiled data on symptoms experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when awake and active throughout the day. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the prevalence, variability, and burden (i.e., bothersomeness and/or intensity), and the impact of daytime COPD symptoms on other outcomes. The review also evaluated the impact of interventions and the measures/tools used to assess daytime COPD symptoms in patients. A systematic literature search was conducted using the primary search terms "COPD", "symptoms", and "daytime" in EMBASE®, MEDLINE®, MEDLINE® In-Process, and CENTRAL in 2016, followed by an additional search in 2018 to capture any new literature that was published since the last search. Fifty-six articles were included in the review. The accumulated evidence indicated that the symptomatic burden of COPD appears greatest in the morning, particularly upon waking, and that these morning symptoms have a substantial impact on patients' ability to function normally through the day; they also worsen quality of life. A wide variety of tools were used to evaluate symptoms across the studies. The literature also confirmed the importance of pharmacotherapy in the management of daytime COPD symptoms, and in helping normalize daily functioning. More research is needed to better understand how COPD symptoms impact daily functioning and to evaluate COPD symptoms at well-defined periods throughout the day, using validated and uniform measures/tools. This will help clinicians to better define patients' needs and take appropriate action

NIKOLAOS LOUROS (1898–1986): THE REFORMER OF GREEK OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY OF THE 20TH CENTURY

The present article reports on the career of Professor Nikolaos Louros and his contribution to the development of obstetrics and gynaecology. The data presented is based on desk research with the aim to gather and analyse relevant credible information from documents existing in primary and secondary resources in the archive of Foundation History of Medicine N. Louros. As a Professor at the University of Athens, Louros introduced new teaching methods. His multifaceted work includes writing, teaching, research, and the clinical and laboratory context. His scientific interest covers all areas of obstetrics and gynaecology. Pioneering and progressive in the medical field, he invented new clinical and surgical methods with international appeal. As a director, Louros established innovative rules in the Maternity Hospitals he directed. He supported every effort aiming to protect maternity and the child, and adopted a new approach regarding the problem of home-based obstetric help to the destitute women

Matrix Completion With Variational Graph Autoencoders: Application in Hyperlocal Air Quality Inference

Inferring air quality from a limited number of observations is an essential task for monitoring and controlling air pollution. Existing inference methods typically use low spatial resolution data collected by fixed monitoring stations and infer the concentration of air pollutants using additional types of data, e.g., meteorological and traffic information. In this work, we focus on street-level air quality inference by utilizing data collected by mobile stations. We formulate air quality inference in this setting as a graph-based matrix completion problem and propose a novel variational model based on graph convolutional autoencoders. Our model captures effectively the spatio-temporal correlation of the measurements and does not depend on the availability of additional information apart from the street-network topology. Experiments on a real air quality dataset, collected with mobile stations, shows that the proposed model outperforms state-of-the-art approaches