Reproductive factors and fatal hip fractures. A Norwegian prospective study of 63,000 women.
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STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of reproductive variables (age at menarche, menopause, first and last birth as well as parity, lactation, and abortions) on hip fracture mortality. DESIGN AND SETTING: A prospective study in Norway with more than 60,000 women followed up for 29 years. A total of 465 deaths as a result of hip fracture were recorded. MAIN RESULTS: Statistically significant linear relations (p < or = 0.02) were found between both age at menarche and length of reproductive period (defined as age at menopause to age at menarche) and the mortality of hip fractures in women aged less than 80. The death rate for women with a late menarche (> or = 17 years) was twice that of the women with relatively early menarche (< or = 13 years). Compared with women with less than 30 years between menopause and menarche, the mortality rate ratio in women with more than 38 reproductive years was 0.5. We also found an inverse relation with age at first birth. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports by hypothesis that an early menarche and a long reproductive period protect against hip fracture mortality. High age at first birth may also be protective. (+info)
Maternal vitamin A or beta-carotene supplementation in lactating bangladeshi women benefits mothers and infants but does not prevent subclinical deficiency.
(2/4708)
The effects of maternal postpartum vitamin A or beta-carotene supplementation on maternal and infant serum retinol concentrations, modified relative dose-response (MRDR) ratios and breast milk vitamin A concentrations were assessed during a community-based trial in Matlab, Bangladesh. At 1-3 wk postpartum, women were randomly assigned to receive either (1) a single dose of 200,000 international units [60,000 retinol equivalents (RE)] vitamin A followed by daily placebos (n = 74), (2) daily doses of beta-carotene [7.8 mg (1300 RE)] (n = 73) or (3) daily placebos (n = 73) until 9 mo postpartum. Compared to placebos, vitamin A supplementation resulted in lower maternal MRDR ratios (i.e., increased liver stores) and higher milk vitamin A concentrations at 3 mo, but these improvements were not sustained. The beta-carotene supplementation acted more slowly, resulting in milk vitamin A concentrations higher than the placebo group only at 9 mo. Irrespective of treatment group, over 50% of women produced milk with low vitamin A concentrations (/=0. 06. We conclude that while both interventions were beneficial, neither was sufficient to correct the underlying subclinical vitamin A deficiency in these women nor to bring their infants into adequate vitamin A status. (+info)
Effects of lipopolysaccharide on production of interleukin-1 and interleukin-6 by bovine mammary epithelial cells in vitro.
(3/4708)
This investigation was performed to determine the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on production of interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6 by bovine mammary epithelial cells in vitro. After confluence, the cells were stimulated with LPS (0.1, 1.0 or 10 micrograms/ml) for 4, 8, 24, and 48 hr. LPS increased production of both IL-1 and IL-6 production from mammary cells in a dose dependent manner. The expression of mRNA for IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) was demonstrated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in bovine mammary epithelial cells. (+info)
Human nerve growth factor beta (hNGF-beta): mammary gland specific expression and production in transgenic rabbits.
(4/4708)
Transgenic rabbits carrying gene constructs encoding human nerve growth factor beta (hNGF-beta) cDNA were generated. Expression of hNGF-beta mRNA was restricted to the mammary gland of lactating rabbits. Western Blot analysis revealed a polypeptide of 13.2 kDa in the milk of transgenic animals. hNGF-beta was purified from the milk by a two-step chromatographic procedure. Electrospray mass spectroscopy analysis of purified hNGF-beta depicted a molecular weight of 13,261 Da per subunit. The biological activity of the hNGF-beta was tested using PC12W2 cells and cultures of dorsal root ganglion neurons from chicken embryos. Crude defatted milk from transgenic animals and purified hNGF-beta demonstrated full biological activity when compared to commercial recombinant hNGF-beta. (+info)
Ovarian follicular responses in dairy cows treated with GnRH and cloprostenol.
(5/4708)
Lactating, nonpregnant (with a corpus luteum) Holsteins were given 100 ug GnRH (n = 12) or saline (n = 12) and 500 ug cloprostenol 6 d later. Following luteolysis, ovulation occurred 10.1 +/- 0.2 d (range, 9-12 d) after GnRH and 8.6 +/- 1.0 d (range, 3-12 d) after saline (differences between groups: means, P > 0.05; variability, P < 0.001). Treatment with GnRH and cloprostenol resulted in a relatively synchronous ovulation. (+info)
The effect of bovine somatotropin treatment on production of lactating angora does with kids.
(6/4708)
Fourteen Angora does (35+/-2 kg), each with a single kid and in the first month of lactation, were used to determine ongoing (Period 1) and residual (Period 2) effects of chronic bovine somatotropin (bST) treatment. Specifically, we sought to determine whether chronic bST treatment was capable of improving milk yield, and thus kid growth, and mohair production of nursing does. The experiment consisted of a 2-wk pretreatment period, 5 wk of weekly subcutaneous treatment of slow-release bST (n = 7; Period 1), and a 4-wk posttreatment period (Period 2). The weekly dose of bST was calculated to release 100 microg/(kg BW.d(-1)). To estimate milk production, kids were separated from the does daily for 5 h, and their BW was recorded before and after suckling. The difference in BW was taken as milk production for 5 h. Fiber growth was measured by shearing does at the start of the experiment and at the end of Periods 1 and 2. Dry matter intake and BW of does were not affected by bST (P>.05). Average daily gain of kids that were suckling bST-treated does was higher (P<.05) than for kids of untreated does during Period 1 (184 vs. 139 g/d) but not during Period 2 (140 vs. 136 g/d; P>.10). Treatment with bST did not affect (P>.10) milk composition or clean fleece production in either period. Injection of bST did not affect (P>.10) plasma concentrations of glucose (mean = 49.5 mg/dL), urea N (mean = 19 mg/dL), total protein (mean = 72.5 g/d), or NEFA (mean = 122 microEq/L). During the period of bST treatment, plasma concentrations of somatotropin and IGF-I were increased (P<.05), concentrations of thyroxine and cortisol were decreased (P<.10), and plasma insulin levels were unchanged (P>.10) by bST. In conclusion, treatment of Angora dams with bST did not change DMI or mohair growth, but it improved growth of their kids. (+info)
Effects of twinning on postpartum reproductive performance in cattle selected for twin births.
(7/4708)
The effects of twinning, dystocia, retained placenta, and body weight on postpartum reproduction were evaluated for 3,370 single and 1,014 twin births. Females were bred by AI for 40 d followed by 20 or 30 d of natural service with equal numbers bred and calved in spring and fall. Percentage of dams cyclic by the end of the AI period was lower (P<.05) for dams birthing and nursing a single calf (92.4%) than for dams birthing twins and nursing zero (98.7%) or two (94.7%) calves. Whereas the interval from parturition to first estrus was shorter (P<.01) for dams birthing and nursing a single (56.9 d) than for dams birthing twins and nursing one (68.5 d) or two (69.6 d) calves, length of the interval was further reduced by dystocia in nonlactating dams of either twins or singles (type of birth x dystocia, P<.05). Ensuing pregnancy rates were also affected by type of birth and dystocia. Without dystocia, dams birthing and nursing a single calf had a higher pregnancy rate (79.2%) than dams birthing twins and nursing one (61.7%) or two (66.3%) calves, whereas the lower ensuing pregnancy rates associated with dystocia in dams of singles (71.9%) resulted in similar rates among dams of singles and twins with dystocia (type of birth x dystocia; P<.01). Having a retained placenta resulted in a lower incidence of (93.5 vs. 96.4%, with vs. without; P<.05) and a longer interval to (64.7 vs. 59.2 d; P<.01) estrus while reducing subsequent pregnancy rates (X = 9.6%) in 3 of the 7 yr evaluated (retained placenta x year, P<.01). Because all parous females were bred during the same calendrical period, the shorter gestation length for twin calves (275.6 vs. 281.3 d) resulted in a longer interval from parturition to conception for twin births, whereas means for conception date differed by only 2 d between dams of twins and singles. Furthermore, a reduction (P<.01) in the interval to conception occurred with dystocia in dams of singles (89.3 vs. 85.0 d, without vs. with dystocia) and of twins nursed by zero (116.9 vs. 83.5 d), one (100.2 vs. 92.8 d), or two (96.1 vs. 97.2 d) calves. Another detriment to fertility was the higher incidence of fetal mortality or abortions associated with twin vs. single pregnancies (12.4 vs. 3.5%; P<.01). However, despite the lower conception rates for dams of twins, the increased prolificacy provides an opportunity to increase total beef production with a twinning technology. (+info)
A technique for assessing the effects of olfaction on feed preference in lactating Holstein cows.
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Our objective was to develop a method for assessing the effects of olfaction on feed preference. Two multiparous lactating Holstein cows were offered a totally mixed ration consisting of corn silage, alfalfa haylage, and a ground corn and soybean meal-based concentrate mixture (25:25:50 on a DM basis) for their ad libitum consumption in four consecutive 2.5-h periods daily for 5 d. An apparatus was developed that allowed odorants to be distributed at a set rate over two feeding containers with limited possibility of odor carryover. Four odorants and a control (no odorant) were compared against each other. All possible comparisons were conducted on the left and right feeding sides to avoid potential lateral-preference effects. Rank values of 0 or .5 were assigned to each odorant based on the percentage of total feed consumed in a period. A test of overall equality based on the sums of squares of ranks was used to determine whether odors affected preference. The limited results indicated that inhalation of odorants did not affect preference. Rank values were doubled for several odorants when compared with others, which suggested that the sample size limited experimental sensitivity. To attain reasonable power, we estimated that at least six cows were needed per study. Large effects of odorants on feed preference would have been required to reach statistical significance in this trial; however, the method provides a practical technique for testing the effects of olfaction on feed preference in cattle when the suggested number of cows is used. (+info)