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A comparison of agents for inducing parturition in mares in the pre-viable and premature periods of gestation.

Various regimens of prostaglandins, alone or followed by oxytocin, were given to induce parturition in mares during the pre-viable and premature periods of gestation and in near-term mares. The most successful method of induction was found to be 2 i.m. injections of 500 micrograms fluprostenol (Equimate: I.C.I.) at a 2-h interval followed (if necessary) by 10-20 i.u. oxytocin injected i.v. in 5 i.u. serial increments every 15-20 min. Peak concentrations of the prostaglandin metabolite (PGFM) in response to the inducing agents were shown to be associated with delivery at, but not before, 320 days of gestation. A radiolabelled study of [14C]fluprostenol distribution showed that fluprostenol was present in placenta, amnion, allantoic and amniotic fluid, and in foal plasma and liver.

Animals↗

[Bacterial contamination, clinical and pathohistological findings in the sex organs of cows following parturition].

Studied were a total of 119 cows of the Bulgatian Brown breed in different physiologic status at various numbers of days following parturition. Thirty-seven of the animals showed puerperal endometritis, while the remaining showed a normal course during puerperium. Uterine secretion and biopsic material for bacteriologic and histologic investigation were taken from all cows. Sixteen species of organisms were isolated from the animals with endometritis, and 12 species - from those with normal puerperium. Highest bacterial counts in both groups were found on the eighth to twelfth day, however, with the endometritis-affected cows they remained at a comparatively high level up to the 40th day after giving birth. With the cows of normal puerperium the bacterial count was found to drop abruptly after the twelfth day. No correlation was found between the bacterial and the histologic finding. Histologically, recovery processes set in by the 25th-30th day and clinically, the involution of the uterus set in by the 30th-35th day after calving.

Animals↗

Plasma oxytocin and estradiol in pelvic neurectomized rats with blocked parturition.

To determine if oxytocin and estradiol were effected by pelvic neurectomy (PN), utero-ovarian vein blood was collected from PN rats during the preparturient period and assayed for these hormones. Radioimmunoassayable oxytocin levels were not significantly different in any groups of sham operated (S) or PN animals on days 21 and 22 or PN animals on days 23 and 24. Estradiol (E2) levels rose significantly on day 22 in S animals but there was no significant change in E2 in PN rats throughout the time period studied, although E2 levels were generally high. These results indicate that the blocked parturition characteristic of PN animals cannot be attributed to altered oxytocin levels. The lack of a significant E2 surge on day 22 in PN rats may contribute to the failure of utero-ovarian vein prostaglandin F levels to rise in these animals during the preparturient period.

Animals↗

Effect of anthelmintic treatment of ewes at parturition and lambs at weaning on the build up of Haemonchus contortus populations in lambs in the Netherlands.

In two groups of ewes and lambs, grazing pastures which were used respectively by calves and sheep in the previous year, infection with Haemonchus contortus was virtually prevented by a single treatment of the ewes with fenbendazole before turning out. In another group, grazing a pasture which was not grazed in the previous year, a delay of approximately eight weeks in the build up of high H contortus burdens in lambs was obtained by this treatment, compared with a group of untreated ewes grazing similar pasture. In two groups of lambs treated with fenbendazole at weaning and subsequently grazed on pastures which could be considered free or almost free of H contortus respectively, the build up of high pasture infectivity levels for H contortus also took at least six to eight weeks. It is suggested that treatment of ewes at parturition and lambs at weaning might delay the build up of high H contortus burdens in the lambs by less than the six to eight weeks observed in these experiments when such treatment is less than 100 per cent effective.

Animals↗

[Delayed parturition in sheep by clenbuterol (author's transl)].

The effect of treatment with clenbuterol on lambing during the period from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. was studied in a field trial in sheep, which was continued for twenty-two days. The date of tupping was not known. The sheep were divided into an experimental and a control group, each numbering 106 animals. Animals of the experimental group were assessed every day at approximately 7.30 p.m., using a system of scoring for the development of udders and vulvae, and were treated with oral administration of 200 micrograms of clenbuterol when the findings suggested that parturition would occur that night. Seventy-nine animals of the experimental group lambed. twelve of them lambing during the night (two of these had been treated in the evening before lambing); of the group of controls, seventy-two lambed, twenty-three doing so during the night (difference significant: P greater than 0.05). The difference in the number of lambings during the night between treated and untreated animals was highly significant (P less than 0.001). Side-effects of clenbuterol were not recorded. The amount of clenbuterol used in the group of controls was: 3.49 tablets/lambing sheep, 5.03 tablets/treated sheep and 5.02 tables/treated and lambing sheep. This high consumption rate is attributed to the fact that the date of tupping was not known as well as to the defectiveness of the criteria on which the decision to treat or not to treat was based.

Administration, Oral↗

Effects of mibolerone on conception, pregnancy, parturition, and offspring in the Beagle.

Mibolerone was administered to Beagle bitches at dose levels of 20 or 60 microgram/day, starting 1,3, or 6 days after the 1st breeding and continuing until the offspring were weaned. Adverse effects on conception, pregnancy, or parturition were not observed in the treated bitches. Female offspring were masculinized. There were no gross effects on the male offspring.

Animals↗

Use of a prostaglandin analogue (cloprostenol) for induction of parturition in pigs with prolonged gestation.

The effect of a prostaglandin analogue (cloprostenol) for initiation of parturition in sows with prolonged gestation (greater than or equal to 117 days) has been studied. The length of the period from injection to farrowing varied from 15 to 48 hours in sows with plasma progesterone level higher than 10.0 nmol/l at treatment, being on average 25.7 hours. Litter size at birth and at time of weaning are presented.

Animals↗

Influence of time of feeding on time of parturition in beef cows.

The influence of time of feeding pregnant beef cows on the timing of parturition was investigated. The results suggest that the distribution of calvings between 'day' and 'night' can be altered by time of feeding. The calculations, based on a small quantity of data, suggest that feeding at 22.00 would result in 79 per cent of cows calving between 06.00 and 22.00. On the same basis of calculation the traditional 09.00 time of feeding would result in 57 per cent of cows calving during the 'day' period. There appears to be some evidence that by feeding pregnant beef cows in the evening better supervision of calving with a smaller proportion of cows calving at night can be achieved.

Animal Husbandry↗

Initiation of human parturition. XI. Lysosomal enzyme release in vitro from amnions obtained from laboring and nonlaboring women.

In the present investigation, we sought to ascertain whether an alteration in the physiology of amnionic lysosomes could be demonstrated in association with normal human labor at term. We reasoned that perturbation of the lysosomes of amnion would be associated with a greater rate of release of known lysosomal marker enzyme activity from this tissue. In order to investigate this possibility, we employed discs of amnion tissue which were incubated in medium containing sucrose (0.25M). We observed that the rate of release of lysosomal marker enzyme activity, N-acetyl glucosaminidase, into the incubation medium from amnion tissue obtained from laboring women was greater than the rate of release of the same enzyme activity from amnion tissue obtained from women who were not in labor. During incubation, there was no detectable release of lactate dehydrogenase, a cytosolic marker enzyme, which attests to the viability of the amnion tissue during the experiment. These findings are consistent with the view that there is an alteration in the physiology of lysosomes of the amnion associated with human labor at term, a finding which is supportive of a role for lysosomes of the human fetal membranes in the initiation of human parturition.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗

Nitrate poisoning in cattle. 4. The effect of nitrite dosing during parturition on the oxygen capacity of maternal blood and the oxygen supply to the unborn calf.

In a series of experiments the effect of administering KNO2 was studied, during parturition, on the capability of oxygen transport of maternal blood and on oxygen transfer to foetal blood. The following blood parameters were analysed, MHb percentage, pO2, O2-saturation, pH, pCO2, and (NO2) in maternal arterial blood (carotid art.) and venous blood (jugular vein) and in foetal arterial blood (umbilical art.) and venous blood (umbilical vein). The relative O2-saturation was calculated from the estimated O2-saturation by multiplying with the factor Hb (mmol/l) minus MHb (mmol/l), divided by Hb (mmol/l). In addition, blood pressure in the carotid artery, heart rate, and respiration rate in the dam were continuously recorded for some hours. A dosage of 9 to 12 mg of NO1/kg body weight intravenously or of 30 mg of NO2/kg body weight orally to the dam caused much higher MHb percentages and NO2 contents in the maternal blood than in the foetal blood. In maternal blood the ratio of NO2 content to MHb percentage was proportional to that in foetal blood. In the arterial blood, MHb percentages were almost as high as in the venous blood. After administering of nitrite, relative O2-saturation dropped simultaneously with the increase in methaemoglobin. Nitrite treatment caused a drop in the maternal blood pressure; heart rate and respiration rate increased. O2-saturation in the blood in the umbilical vein was much lower in the animals with nitrite treatment than in those without. These experimental results show clearly that the oxygen capacity of the blood decreases after nitrite treatment. In pregnant cows the oxygen supply to the foetus will be adversely affected after nitrate intake, especially by the lower oxygen transfer via the placenta, though hardly at all by methaemoglobin formation in the foetal blood. When the oxygen transfer to the foetal blood decreases too sharply, intra-uterine death and ultimately abortion may result.

Animals↗

The metabolic activity of bovine adipocytes before and after parturition.

Adipocytes were isolated from biopsies of the subcutaneous adipose tissue of dairy cows before and after parturition. The diameter of the cells was measured and their lipogenic and lipolytic capacities were assessed by measurement of 14C-glucose incorporation and glycerol release. The concentration of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) in plasma at the time of biopsy was also measured. In the post calving samples, lipogenic activity of the adipocytes was reduced to a third of the precalving level, and oxidation of glucose to carbon dioxide almost ceased. Lipolytic activity increased five-fold after calving, and this was associated with an increase in plasma NEFA concentrations.

Adipose Tissue↗

Clinical and endocrinological aspects of induced parturition in multiparous sows.

Intramuscular administration of PGF2alpha or its analogue ICI 80996 at 110--112 days of gestation results in grouped parturition. The decrease of progesterone levels is interrupted by a temporary increase. During expulsion rather high values are obtained compared to the control group. Unconjugated oestrogens increase, reaching maximum values just before expulsion.

Animals↗

Plasma progesterone, oestradiol-17 beta, oestrone sulphate, corticosteroids and a metabolite of PGF2 alpha: evolution throughout pregnancy, before, during and after parturition in buffalo cows.

The concentration of plasma progesterone, oestradiol-17 beta, oestrone sulphate, corticosteroids and 13,14-dihydro-15-ketoprostaglandin F2 alpha (PGFM) was measured in 12 buffalo cows during the whole period of gestation, around parturition and for 15 d postpartum. The concentration of progesterone and oestradiol-17 beta increased slightly during the first 2 months (3.5 +/- ng/ml) and 4 months (14.8 +/- 2.1 pg/ml) of pregnancy, respectively. Their values remained consistently below these levels until near the end of the pregnancy period when progesterone concentrations decreased significantly (P < 0.05) at d 7 prepartum (0.9 +/- 0.1 ng/ml) and oestradiol-17 beta increased markedly (P < 0.01) at d 10 prepartum (26.3 +/- 2.6 pg/ml). Progesterone showed basal values (< 0.5 ng/ml) from d 4 prepartum to d 15 postpartum. Oestradiol-17 beta concentrations were maximal (82.8 +/- 3.6 pg/ml) during labour and returned to their basal values (< 12 pg/ml) at d 5 postpartum. The concentrations of oestrone sulphate remained low (< 140 pg/ml) during the first half of gestation period. It increased sharply (P < 0.01) thereafter to 5,620 +/- 116.5 pg/ml by 30 d prepartum and afterwards declined to about 50% of this value before calving reaching basal level (< 80 pg/ml) at d 2 postpartum. The concentration of corticosteroids fluctuated narrowly (1.7 +/- 0.3 ng/ml) throughout gestation, increasing significantly (P < 0.05) at d 12 prepartum (5.3 +/- 1.8 ng/ml) and peaking to 16.8 +/- 3.2 ng/ml at the moment of delivery. Its value declined below 3 ng/ml from d 3 onwards postpartum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

The effects of parturition on female pelvic floor anatomy and function.

Our knowledge of the immediate effects of parturition on pelvic floor anatomy and physiology has been sparse. However, with the introduction of computed tomography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging, new tools have become available for visualizing dynamic antenatal and postpartum changes in the pelvic musculature. Although few studies have been performed, there is evidence of a pregnancy-related increase in the frequency of urinary stress incontinence, and of an increased frequency of persistent anal incontinence in cases of sphincter tears.

Female↗

Influence of management technology and parturition on antibody levels in cows with bovine leukosis.

Sera from 97 Holstein-Friesian cows kept in isolation (herd I) were tested on 9 occasions with an interval of 90 days. The cows had previously given a positive reaction with bovine leukaemia virus antigen in the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test. During the period of loose housing (at tests 1-3) 0-3 cows per test (0-3.1%) gave a negative reaction. When the same animals were kept in the tie-in system (at tests 4-7) the number of negative reactors varied between 9 and 26 (16.9-20.1%). Twenty-eight cows of herd II were tested serologically by the AGID test on a total of 9 occasions from day 60 before term up to postpartum day 90. The lowest antibody level was obtained at calving, when 7 cows gave a negative result in the AGID test. In three cows the decline of antibody level was so pronounced that their serum was negative even after postpartum day 60. One cow was negative even at the end of the test period (on postpartum day 90). The variation in serum antibody level was demonstrable also by ELISA; however, by that test none of the animals gave a negative result. The antibody level demonstrable in the milk reached its peak at calving and then it underwent a gradual decline; however, it did not drop below the detectability limit by the end of the test period. It is concluded that in bovine leukosis infected herds the performance of the AGID test is extremely impaired by the use of the tie-in housing system, as well as by a combined effect of tying in and parturition. Therefore, during the leukosis eradication and qualification of herds kept in a tie-in system, ELISA is the method that can be used, instead of AGID, with satisfactory efficacy even for the testing of sera.

Animals↗

Activin at parturition: changes of maternal serum levels and evidence for binding sites in placenta and fetal membranes.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate maternal serum activin A levels in pregnant women at parturition, correlated to the mode of delivery, and to localize activin receptor messenger RNA in human placenta and fetal membranes. METHODS: A specific two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure maternal activin A levels. Activin receptor mRNA was localized in placenta and fetal membranes by in situ hybridization, using ActRII or ActRIIB antisense riboprobes. RESULTS: Serum activin A levels increased significantly in pregnant women during vaginal or cesarean delivery after spontaneous labor. No significant changes of serum activin A were found in patients undergoing elective cesarean delivery. Syncytiotrophoblast and amnion cells hybridized to radiolabeled ActRIIB probe, whereas few cells within the structure of the villi and decidual cells hybridized to radiolabeled ActRII probe. CONCLUSION: The present studies indicate that vaginal or cesarean delivery following spontaneous labor is characterized by increased activin A levels and that activin receptors are present on trophoblast and fetal membranes.

Activin Receptors↗

From parturition to marathon: a 16-wk study of an elite runner.

This study monitored a 34-yr-old distance runner for 16 wk immediately postparturition, as she trained for the 1992 United States Olympic Marathon Trials. Weight (WT), percent fat (%FAT), aerobic power (VO2max), and energy intake/expenditure were evaluated 4, 8, 12, and 16 wk post-parturition. WT declined steadily throughout the investigation, while %FAT decreased through the first 12 wk. Minimal changes in VO2max (4 wk; 52.2 ml.kg-1.min-1 to 16 wk: 55.3 ml.kg-1.min-1) occurred; however, there were substantial changes in oxygen uptake at the lactate threshold (VO2-LT) and at the onset of blood lactate accumulation (VO2-OBLA). VO2-LT increased from 35.6 ml.kg-1.min-1 at 4 wk to 43.5 ml.kg-1.min-1 at 8 wk. VO2-OBLA increased from 40.1 ml.kg-1.min-1 at 4 wk to 51.2 ml.kg-1.min-1 at 8 wk. VO2-LT and VO2-OBLA did not change during the final 8 wk of training. Energy intake was consistently below energy expenditure. No physical or medical complications were encountered during training. This subject was able to improve VO2-LT and VO2-OBLA through high-intensity training without compromising her health. The evidence indicates that well-trained female athletes, while under physician care, may participate in rigorous physical activity soon after pregnancy.

Adipose Tissue↗

Bovine immunoglobulins following induced parturition.

Immunoglobulins in colostrum that are absorbed into the calf's blood were studied in cows in which parturition was induced by corticosteroids 3 to 22 days before expected full-term calving. The colostral and calf serum concentrations of IgG were not different from those in cows and their calves at full-term calving. Colostral IgG content decreased precipitously between 2 and 12 hours postpartum in both groups of cows.

Animals↗