COVID-19 Pandemic and Maternal Perspectives.

Aim Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected perinatal women worldwide. Our study aimed to describe the opinions of perinatal women about COVID-19 related knowledge, attitude, and practices. Methods Pregnant and Postnatal women (n=223) were included and those who did not consent, and less than 16 weeks' gestation, were excluded. SPSS version 26 was used for descriptive statistics. Results Most of the women had good knowledge about COVID 19 regarding its nature, transmission, & symptoms. Their information sources were news (139/206=67.5%) and the internet (85/206=41%). Women understood the uncertainty around its effect on pregnancy; as it is a novel infection. A substantial number of women were concerned (130/206=63%), upset by social isolation (86/206=42%), negatively impacted by the visitor restrictions in hospital (154/206=75%), and faced COVID-19 related reduced household finances (97/206=47%). Most of them used hand washing (201/206=98%) & social distancing (191/206=93%) as preventive measures. They reported compromised contact with General Physician (GP) service as compared to the hospital service (85/206=41% Vs 31/206=15% respectively) during the pandemic. Conclusions The main challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic for perinatal women are the jeopardized GP & hospital services & psychological distress. It is imperative to incorporate telemedicine & virtual visits to tackle the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perinatal women, are particularly vulnerable to the psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic & societal lockdown, thus necessitating holistic interventions.

Effect of dietary supplementation of alpha-galactosidase on the growth performance, ileal digestibility, intestinal morphology, and biochemical parameters in broiler chickens.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to investigate the effect of Alpha-galactosidase (AlphaGal) supplementation with two energy levels on the growth performance, amino acid ileal digestibility coefficient "AID%," economic value, intestinal histology, and blood biochemical parameters of broiler chickens. Two-hundred 3-day-old broiler chicks (average body weight 74.34 g ±0.52 Ross 308) were randomly assigned to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of two energy diets groups: in the first group, the birds were fed on a recommended energy diet (RED) while the second group was reduced 120 kcal/kg diet as a low energy diet (LED) and two levels of AlphaGal (0 or 50 mg/kg diet) for RED and LED for the 35-day feeding period. RESULTS: The interaction effects between the energy level and the AlphaGal supplementations resulted in significant decrease (P ≤ 0.05) in the body weight, body weight gain, and the relative growth rate. The feed conversion ratio was signficantly increased in LED without supplementation of AlphaGal group during the entire experimental period, this negative effect on the growth performance was corrected by AlphaGal supplementation. The AID% value was increased significantly by AlphaGal supplementation. Blood triglyceride concentrations were significantly decreased (P = 0.02) in the LED group with or without AlphaGal supplementation, while the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was significantly decreased (P = 0.01) in the LED or RED groups supplemented with 50 mg RED AlphaGal. Histologically, the number of intestinal glands and goblet cells increased in both RED and LED groups supplemented with AlphaGal and their secretions were mainly neutral mucopolysaccharides and less acidic mucopolysaccharides. CONCLUSION: AlphaGal supplementation improved the growth performance of broiler chickens fed LED and the growth performance is similar to those fed RED, thereby consequently improving the economic value of these diets. AlphaGal supplementation improves intestinal histology and morphology as well.

Oral antioxidants supplementation for women with unexplained infertility undergoing ICSI/IVF: randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Good oocyte quality and maturity are important prerequisites for high fertilization and implantation rates in IVF/ICSI treatment cycles. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced within ovarian follicles, especially during the ovulation process, and increased ROS activity may be a cause of impaired oocyte maturation and higher rate of failure of IVF/ICSI cycles. STUDY DESIGN: RCT evaluating the effect of antioxidant supplementation on ICSI/IVF outcomes. Two hundred and eighteen women with unexplained subfertility undergoing IVF/ICSI were randomized into two groups. The study group (n = 112) received daily oral antioxidants in the form of multivitamins and minerals (amino acid chelated) while the control group (n = 106) did not. Main outcomes were number of mature metaphase II (MII) oocytes and clinical pregnancy rate. RESULTS: There were no significant changes between the groups as regards age, BMI, basal FSH, number of mature (MII) oocytes (12.7 ± 9.4 vs. 13.2 ± 8.6, P = 0.7) and clinical pregnancy rate per woman randomized (38% vs. 34%; [OR = 1.2; 95% CI, 0.70-2.11]. CONCLUSION: Oral antioxidants in the form of a combination of multivitamins and minerals (amino acid chelated) did not improve oocyte quality and pregnancy rates in women with unexplained infertility undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment.

Effects of Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid and its components on experimental amnesia in mice: elucidation using the passive avoidance test.

The effects of Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid and its oxindole alkaloid components, uncarine E, uncarine C, mitraphylline, rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline, on the impairment of retention performance caused by amnesic drugs were investigated using a step-down-type passive avoidance test in mice. In this test, the retention performance of animals treated with the amnesic and test drugs before training was assessed 24 h after training. Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloid (10-20 mg kg(-1), i.p.) and the alkaloid components (10-40 mg kg(-1), i.p.), as well as the muscarinic receptor agonist oxotremorine (0.01 mg kg(-1), i.p.), significantly attenuated the deficit in retention performance induced by the muscarinic receptor antagonist scopolamine (3 mg kg(-1), i.p.). The effective doses of uncarine C and mitraphylline were larger than those of other alkaloid components. Uncarine E (20 mg kg(-1), i.p.) also blocked the impairment of passive avoidance performance caused by the nicotinic receptor antagonist mecamylamine (15 mg kg(-1), i.p.) and the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist (+/-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP; 7.5 mg kg(-1), i.p.), but it failed to affect the deficit caused by the benzodiazepine receptor agonist diazepam (2 mg kg(-1), i.p.). Rhynchophylline significantly reduced the mecamylamine-induced deficit in passive avoidance behaviour, but it failed to attenuate the effects of CPP and diazepam. These results suggest that Uncaria tomentosa total alkaloids exert a beneficial effect on memory impairment induced by the dysfunction of cholinergic systems in the brain and that the effect of the total alkaloids is partly attributed to the oxindole alkaloids tested. Moreover, these findings raised the possibility that the glutamatergic systems are implicated in the anti-amnesic effect of uncarine E.