High-fat diet-negative impact on female fertility: from mechanisms to protective actions of antioxidant matrices.

Introduction: Excessive calorie intake poses a significant threat to female fertility, leading to hormonal imbalances and reproductive challenges. Overconsumption of unhealthy fats exacerbates ovarian dysfunction, with an overproduction of reactive oxygen species causing oxidative stress, impairing ovarian follicle development and leading to irregular ovulation and premature ovarian failure. Interest in biological matrices with high antioxidant properties to combat diet-related oxidative stress has grown, as they contain various bioactive factors crucial for neutralizing free radicals potentially preventing female reproductive health. This systematic review evaluates the female reproductive impact of biological matrices in mitigating oxidative damages induced by over calory habits and, in particular, high fat diets. Methods: A comparative approach among mammalian models was utilized to interpret literature available data. This approach specifically investigates the antioxidant mechanisms of biological matrices on early and late ovarian folliculogenesis, under physiological and hormone-induced female reproductive cycle. Adhering to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, only English-language publications from peer-reviewed international indexes were considered. Results: The analysis of 121 publications meeting the inclusion criteria facilitated the identification of crucial components of biological matrices. These components, including carbocyclic sugars, phytonutrients, organosulfur compounds, and vitamins, were evaluated for their impact on ovarian follicle resilience, oocyte quality, and reproductive lifespan. The detrimental effects of oxidative stress on female fertility, particularly exacerbated by high saturated fat diets, are well-documented. In vivo studies across mammalian preclinical models have underscored the potential of antioxidants derived from biological matrices to mitigate diet-induced conditions. These antioxidants enhance steroidogenesis and ovarian follicle development, thereby improving oocyte quality. Additionally, discussions within these publications emphasized the clinical significance of these biological matrices, translating research findings into practical applications for female health. Conclusion: Further research is essential to fully exploit the potential of these matrices in enhancing female reproduction and mitigating the effects of diets rich in fatty acids. This requires intensified in vitro studies and comprehensive collection of in vivo data before clinical trials. The promotion of ovarian resilience offers promising avenues for enhancing understanding and advancing female reproductive health world-wide.

Scoring Enzootic Pneumonia-like Lesions in Slaughtered Pigs: Traditional vs. Artificial-Intelligence-Based Methods.

Artificial-intelligence-based methods are regularly used in the biomedical sciences, mainly in the field of diagnostic imaging. Recently, convolutional neural networks have been trained to score pleurisy and pneumonia in slaughtered pigs. The aim of this study is to further evaluate the performance of a convolutional neural network when compared with the gold standard (i.e., scores provided by a skilled operator along the slaughter chain through visual inspection and palpation). In total, 441 lungs (180 healthy and 261 diseased) are included in this study. Each lung was scored according to traditional methods, which represent the gold standard (Madec's and Christensen's grids). Moreover, the same lungs were photographed and thereafter scored by a trained convolutional neural network. Overall, the results reveal that the convolutional neural network is very specific (95.55%) and quite sensitive (85.05%), showing a rather high correlation when compared with the scores provided by a skilled veterinarian (Spearman's coefficient = 0.831, p < 0.01). In summary, this study suggests that convolutional neural networks could be effectively used at slaughterhouses and stimulates further investigation in this field of research.

A Comparison of the Intrarectal and Intramuscular Effects of a Dexmedetomidine, Ketamine and Midazolam Mixture on Tear Production in Cats: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Cats are often easily stressed and uncooperative. The use of sedative agents in the feline species is widely used to perform even minor clinical and diagnostic procedures. The aim of this study is to assess the impact on tear film production of the intrarectal route (IR) administration of a mixture of dexmedetomidine, ketamine and midazolam in comparison with the intramuscular (IM) one. A group of twenty cats were involved in a randomized and blinded clinical trial. A clinical and ophthalmological examination was conducted on the cats. The IR group received dexmedetomidine 0.003 mg kg-1, ketamine 4 mg kg-1 and midazolam 0.4 mg kg-1; the IM group received dexmedetomidine 0.003 mg kg-1, ketamine 2 mg kg-1 and midazolam 0.2 mg kg-1. A Shirmer tear test I (STT- I) was conducted 1 h before sedation and 2', 10', 20', 30', 40', and 80' post drug administration. The reaction to STT-I administration was also evaluated. The IM group has a lower mean tear production than the IR group for all time points evaluated. Cats in the IM group showed less reaction to STT-I administration. This study may suggest that the effect of sedative agents administered by the IR route has a lower incidence on tear production than the IM one. The use of eye lubricant is recommended in any case.