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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of exogenous melatonin administration on transferable embryos by increasing total antioxidant status before superovulation in Assaf ewes. Selected ewes were randomly divided into two equal groups: melatonin (n = 9) and control (n = 9). In the melatonin group, a melatonin implant (18 mg melatonin, Regulin®, Ceva, Turkey) was placed under the skin of the ear 7 days prior to insertion of the progesterone-containing sponge. In the control group, a physiological saline solution was injected under the skin of the ear on the same day. The same superovulation protocol was used in both groups. In addition, blood samples for determination of Glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant status and total oxidant status concentrations were collected on five different days, including the day of melatonin implant placement (Day-7), vaginal sponge insertion (Day 0), vaginal sponge removal (Day 11), mating (Day 12-13) and uterine flushing (Day 19). Embryos were collected by laparotomy on the 7th day after mating. Uterine flushing taken into petri dishes were scanned under a stereomicroscope, and the quality and developmental stages of the embryos were recorded. In the study, total corpus luteum count and total cell count were found to be higher in the control group than in the melatonin group (p < .05). When the results were evaluated in terms of oxidative stress index, a negative correlation was found between the total number of corpus luteum, number of cells obtained, count of transferable embryos and number of Grade 1 embryos on Day 0. There was also a positive correlation oxidative stress index and the number of unfertilized oocytes on Day-7. As a result, exogenous melatonin administration prior to superovulation during the breeding season is thought to have a negative effect on embryo yield and quality. Therefore, the use of exogenous melatonin in MOET studies during the breeding season is recommended to be investigated in new studies.
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Antioxidantes , Transferencia de Embrión , Melatonina , Superovulación , Animales , Melatonina/farmacología , Melatonina/administración & dosificación , Femenino , Superovulación/efectos de los fármacos , Antioxidantes/farmacología , Transferencia de Embrión/veterinaria , Oveja Doméstica , Embarazo , Cuerpo Lúteo/efectos de los fármacos , Ovinos/embriologíaRESUMEN
The transformation of milk into cheese largely depends on the technological properties of the raw material, with breed being a crucial factor that influences both the composition and coagulation properties of the milk used for cheesemaking. This study uses canonical correlation analysis to explore the relationships between physicochemical traits and coagulation properties in milk from various Spanish breeds, aiming to identify both common and breed-specific patterns that impact milk technological aptitude. A total of 832 milk samples from Manchega, Assaf, Merino de Grazalema, and Merino de Los Pedroches breeds were analyzed. The milk characteristics investigated included pH, composition (fat, protein, lactose, total solids), and coagulation properties (curd firmness-A60, rennet clotting time-RCT, curd firming time-k20, and individual laboratory curd yield-ILCY). The results reveal a shared correlation structure across breeds and unique covariation patterns in some breeds that deviate from the general trend. While Assaf and Merino de Los Pedroches follow the common correlation pattern, Manchega and Merino de Grazalema exhibit distinct patterns. This research underscores the need for in-depth study and suggests that the dairy industry could benefit from shifting from the traditional focus on maximizing fat and protein for higher curd yields to considering technological traits for selective breeding.
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Twenty-two Assaf male lambs (29.2 ± 0.9 kg live weight and 89 ± 0.2 days of age), distributed in two experimental groups, were used to evaluate the use of either feed-grade conventional urea (Control diet; n = 11) or slow-release urea (SRU diet; n = 11) as sources of dietary nitrogen on animal performance, ruminal fermentation, blood acid-base status, plasmatic metabolic profile, and carcass and meat quality. Animals were housed individually and fed ad libitum. At the end of the fattening period (day 70), the animals were slaughtered to compare the fermentation patterns in ruminal digesta and to evaluate the carcass and meat characteristics. No statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between treatments in the dry matter intake, final live weight, average daily gain, and feed conversion rate. Regarding the ruminal fermentation parameters, the molar proportion of propionic acid was higher (p < 0.05) and that of butyric acid was lower (p < 0.05) with the SRU than with the Control diet. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between experimental treatments in the blood acid-base status and biochemical profile, except for the concentration of urea in plasma, which was significantly (p < 0. 05) greater in SRU than in Control lambs. No statistically significant differences were observed between treatments (p > 0.05) in the carcass and meat characteristics. In conclusion, the use of slow-release urea as a replacement for feed-grade conventional urea in the diet of Assaf fattening lambs, under the experimental conditions of this study, did not improve animal performance and increased the feeding costs.
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The aim of this work was to assess the effects of beeswax supplementation on growth rate, feed intake, nutrient digestion, rumen fermentation, blood parameters, and economic sustainability in Assaf lambs. Eighteen growing Assaf (5 months old) lambs were separated into three experimental groups (n = 6 lambs/group). The lambs were fed a basal diet without supplementation (G1) or supplemented with 2 and 4 g beeswax/head/day in G2 and G3 groups, respectively. Zootechnical performance was evaluated over a 90 day period. Feed digestibility was assessed in faeces through the acid insoluble-ash method, and rumen liquor was collected to measure ammonia (NH3-N) and total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) levels. Blood samples were obtained for the titration serum metabolites by colorimetric tests. The findings showed that G3 had an improved performance compared to the other groups (p < 0.01). The lambs in G3 revealed the highest nutrient digestibility and feed use, followed by G2, and G1. G3 recorded the highest economic efficiency followed by G2 and G1 (p < 0.01). The TVFA, acetate, and propionate concentrations were higher and the pH values, NH3-N, and butyrate concentrations were lower in G3 compared to G2 and particularly to G1 (p < 0.01). The concentrations of total protein, globulin, and glucose were significantly higher with 4 g beeswax (p < 0.05). However, albumin, cholesterol, total lipids, urea, creatinine, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) concentrations as well as the albumin to globulin ratio decreased significantly with both levels of beeswax (p < 0.05). The addition of beeswax at the level of 4 g/head/day for growing Assaf lambs significantly improved the growth performance, digestibility, rumen fermentation, and blood serum parameters in addition to the economic efficiency.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the in vivo transfer of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) to Assaf ewes' milk (aflatoxin M1, AFM1) and its effect on animal performance and health. Thirty Assaf ewes were allocated to three groups (C, L, H), and received a different individual daily dose of AFB1 (0, 40 and 80 µg) for 13 days. Milk (days 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 16 and 18) and blood (days 1, 7, 14 and 18) samples were collected. Milk yield, composition (except protein) and somatic cell counts (SCC) were not affected by AFB1 intake (p > 0.05). Haemoglobin concentration increased (p < 0.05) and haematocrit and alanine aminotransferase levels tended to increase (p < 0.10) in group H on day 14. AFM1 excretion was highly variable and detected in L and H animals from days 1 to 16 (3 days increase, 10 days steady-state, 3 days clearance). Carry-over rate (0.23%) was significantly higher in L (0.22-0.34%) than in H (0.16-0.19%) animals (p < 0.05). AFB1 daily doses of 40 to 80 µg do not impair milk yield; however, it may start affecting animals' health. Milk AFM1 depends mainly on the AFB1 intake whereas carryover rate is positively influenced by the level of milk production.
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Background: By using complementary therapies, such as exercise rehabilitation during and after cancer treatment, breast cancer patients and survivors can improve their quality of life and overall health while also negating the deleterious effects of breast cancer and its treatment. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the physical activity levels of female breast cancer patients and survivors in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. Methods: The International Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (2002) determined participants' physical activity levels during work, travel and leisure. The questionnaire was disseminated to medical facilities in hard copy format and online via the Google Forms platform. Statistics were computed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) with the level of significance set at 95% (p < 0.05). Results: One hundred female breast cancer patients and survivors with a mean age of 55 years from Ekurhuleni, South Africa participated in this study. The findings reflected that most participants (59%) were meeting the American College of Sports Medicine's physical activity guidelines when considering activity done during work, travel and leisure. No significant difference was seen in physical activity participation between breast cancer patients and breast cancer survivors, or those attending private and public facilities. Conclusion: For the breast cancer patient, physical activity and exercise may be a promising and effective adjuvant treatment both during and after anticancer therapies, improving quality of life, playing a role in increasing treatment tolerance, mitigating a range of symptoms and side effects brought on by cancer diagnosis and treatments and enhancing outcomes
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Humanos , FemeninoRESUMEN
Thirty Assaf male lambs (30 ± 1.9 kg of body weight) were allocated to three groups fed diets differing in their crude protein (CP) contents (low protein (LP), 134 g CP/kg dry matter (DM); medium protein (MP), 157 g CP/kg DM; and high protein (HP), 173 g CP/kg DM) to test the effect of dietary protein content on animal performance, rumen function, animal health, and carcass and meat quality. Feed intake was recorded daily, and animals were weighed every second week. Lambs were blood-sampled to determine their acid-base status and biochemical profile. After 70 days of trial, lambs were slaughtered, and the ruminal content was collected to assess ruminal fermentation. Finally, carcass and meat quality were evaluated. Dry matter intake and average daily gain increased (p < 0.05) when increasing the level of dietary CP. There were not significant differences (p > 0.05) in the evaluated parameters in the rumen fluid of lambs. There were not significant differences in carcass or meat quality (p > 0.05) and in those parameters related to blood acid-base status. Several biochemical parameters showed differences depending on diet CP level (urea, protein, albumin, glucose, and calcium; p < 0.05). Feeding costs calculated in relation to cold carcass weight decreased when dietary CP decreased. The results suggested that a dietary protein content greater than 157 g/kg DM would be required to maximize growth performance in Assaf male fattening lambs under 50 kg of body weight. However, a protein content beyond that level was not found to improve either carcass or meat quality and could worsen profitability.
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Milk from healthy animals has classically been considered a sterile fluid. With the development of massively parallel sequencing and its application to the study of the microbiome of different body fluids, milk microbiota has been documented in several animal species. In this study, the main objective of this work was to access bacterial profiles of healthy milk samples using the next-generation sequencing of amplicons from the 16S rRNA gene to characterise the milk microbiome of the Churra breed. A total of 212 samples were collected from two Churra dairy farms with a different management system. The core milk microbiota in Churra ewes includes lesser genera (only two taxa: Staphylococcus and Escherichia/Shigella) than studies reported in other dairy species or even in a previous study in Assaf sheep milk. We found that diversity values in the two flocks of Churra breed were lower than the diversity of the milk microbiota in Assaf. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination using Bray-Curtis distance separates samples based on their microbiota composition. The information reported here might be used to understand the complex issue of milk microbiota composition.
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BACKGROUND: Identification of molecular characterization of genes underlying livestock productive traits may allow applying advanced biotechnology techniques to improve animal productivity. Growth hormone (GH) controls body growth rate, milk production, reproduction as well as carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the genetic variations of growth hormone cDNA sequences between Assaf sheep (As_GH) and Boer goat (Bo_GH) that mainly used for genetic improvement in Egypt using bioinformatics analysis. Growth hormone cDNA was isolated from the pituitary gland tissue of Assaf sheep Boer goat and subcloned into pTZ57R/T cloning vector for sequencing. RESULTS: Molecular weight of As_GH cDNA was 665 bp and was 774 bp for Bo_GH cDNA. The complete coding sequences (CDS) of As_GH and Bo_GH were registered in the GenBank database under accession number (AC: MH128986 and AC: MG744290, respectively). High homology percentage was observed (99.5%) between AS_GH and Bo_GH protein sequences with one different amino acid in the As_GH protein sequence (Arg194). The protein sequence of As_GH has only one motif signature; Somatotropin_1 from 79 to 112 aa compared to Bo_GH protein sequences and GenBank database that had two motifs signature. The growth hormone cDNA sequence of Assaf sheep has a unique three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (A637A638G639) that encodes for arginine (Arg194); this insertion mutation (AAG) was not found in the growth hormone cDNA sequences of Boer goat in the present study and GenBank database breeds. This mutation can be used to develop SNPs markers for Assaf sheep. CONCLUSIONS: GH sequence of Assaf and Boer goat is highly conserved and the homogeny in the codon region (99.5%). The Assaf sheep GH sequence has a unique three SNPs that may be used to develop SNPs markers for such breed. Further studies are needed to investigate the genetic variations of growth hormone gene in different sheep and goat breeds in Egypt and document the relationship between these variations and the productive performance of animals.
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Thirty-six Assaf male lambs (29.4 ± 3.10 kg body weight (BW)) were used to study the feasibility of including urea (at 0, 0.6 or 0.95% of dry matter for Control, Urea1, and Urea2 diets, respectively) in substitution of soybean meal in fattening diets. Animals were individually penned and feed intake was recorded daily. Blood samples were taken at days 35 and 63 of the experimental period to determine the acid-base status and the biochemical profile. At the end of the experiment (nine weeks), lambs were slaughtered, ruminal contents were collected and carcass and meat quality were evaluated. There were not differences (p > 0.05) among treatments in dry matter intake, animal performance, ruminal fermentation pattern, and carcass and meat parameters. Serum albumin concentration was higher and concentration of HCO3 and total CO2 in blood were lower in Urea2 compared to Urea1 and Control lambs. These results, together with the tendency to lower (p = 0.065) blood pH in this group might suggest a moderate metabolic acidosis. Partial replacement of soybean meal with urea did not impair growth rate in heavy fattening Assaf lambs (from 29 to 50 kg body weight), reduced feeding costs and had no adverse effects on feed efficiency, rumen fermentation and carcass and meat quality.
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BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmias associated with substantially increased risks of ischemic stroke and thromboembolism. Oral anticoagulants (OACs) are the cornerstone of AF management and effectively prevent AF-related stroke. As new non-vitamin K antagonist OACs (NOACs) have become available, the landscape of stroke prevention in AF has changed. However, there are considerable gaps between daily clinical practice and current guideline-based recommendations for anticoagulant therapy in Japan. Consequently, little is known about the real-world setting and the current use of NOACs, especially by practitioners in Japan. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study in 3847 patients with AF who were enrolled in clinics and hospitals located in Kanagawa Prefecture from September 2013 through March 2015. The participating centers included practitioners (small clinics), medium-sized hospitals, and university hospitals. The primary endpoints were epidemiologic characteristics, status of treatment with anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, outcomes, and adverse events, including cerebrovascular disease, bleeding, and death. RESULTS: The mean CHADS2 score was 1.81±1.27, the mean CHADS2-Vasc score was 3.02±1.58, and the mean HAS-BLED score was 2.23±1.06, respectively. The usage rate of warfarin was 44.2% overall, and the usage rate of NOACs was 33.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study are expected to serve as the basis for providing clinical practice guidance to healthcare institutions in Japan, with the ultimate goals of better characterizing the appropriate use of OACs and providing clinical decision support to physicians to facilitate the design of appropriate therapeutic strategies and the selection of anticoagulants for the management of AF.