Associations between routinely collected Dairy Herd Improvement data and insemination outcome in UK dairy herds.

Milk constituent concentrations in samples taken during early lactation are often used to generate proxy measures for energy balance in dairy herds. This study aimed to explore associations between these and other measures routinely recorded by Dairy Herd Improvement schemes and insemination outcome, with an emphasis on the likely predictiveness of such measures for conception risk (the proportion of inseminations that are successful) at herd level. Data from 312 UK dairy herds were restructured so that each unit of data represented an insemination at less than 100 d in milk (DIM). Milk constituent concentrations from the first and second test days (corrected for the effects of season and DIM at sampling) were used as potential predictors of insemination outcome in a logistic regression model. Other predictors included representations of milk yield and other information routinely collected by Dairy Herd Improvement Associations; random effects were used to account for clustering at cow and herd levels. The final model included a large number of predictors, with several interaction and nonlinear terms. The relative effect sizes of the measures of early lactation milk constituent concentrations were small. The full model predicted just under 64% of observed variation in herd-year conception risk (i.e., the proportion of inseminations that were successful in each herd in each calendar year); however, around 40% was accounted for by the herd-level random effect. The predictors based on early lactation milk constituent concentrations accounted for less than 0.5% of observed variation, and representations of milk yield (both overall level of yield and early lactation curve shape) accounted for around 7%; DIM at insemination, parity, interservice interval, year, and month accounted for the remaining 15%. These results suggest that early lactation milk constituent information is unlikely to predict herd conception risk to a useful extent. The large proportion of observed variation explained by the herd-level random effect suggests that there are unmeasured (in this study) or unmeasurable factors that are consistent within a herd and are highly influential in determining herd conception risk.

Effect of short- and long-term heat stress on the conception risk of dairy cows under natural service and artificial insemination breeding programs.

The objectives of this retrospective study were to examine the effect of heat stress on natural service and artificial insemination (AI) breeding methods. We investigated the influence of short- and long-term heat stress on the conception risk (CR) of dairy cows bred by natural service or by AI with frozen-thawed or fresh semen. In addition, the relationship between breeding method and parity was determined. Cows bred by AI with frozen-thawed semen exposed to long-term heat stress (mean temperature-humidity index ≥73 in the period 21d before breeding) were 63% less likely to get pregnant compared with cows not exposed to heat stress. Cows bred by AI with fresh semen were 80% less likely to get pregnant during periods of short-term heat stress than during periods without heat stress. Furthermore, multiparous cows bred by AI with frozen-thawed or fresh semen were 22 and 67% less likely to get pregnant, respectively, than primiparous cows. No influence of heat stress or parity was noted on the CR of cows bred by natural service. The present study indicates that the likelihood of dairy cows becoming pregnant is reduced by short- and long-term heat stress depending on the type of semen employed. In particular, CR of cows inseminated with fresh semen is negatively affected by short-term heat stress and CR of cows inseminated with frozen-thawed semen is negatively affected by long-term heat stress.

Ovulation timing and conception risk after automated activity monitoring in lactating dairy cows.

Using 1 market-available activity monitor, 3 experiments were conducted in dairy cows to determine timing of ovulation, compare within-herd conception risk of cows inseminated based on activity monitors versus timed artificial insemination (AI), and determine conception risk of cows inseminated at various intervals after achieving an activity threshold. In experiment 1, ovaries were scanned every 3h by transrectal ultrasonography to determine the time of ovulation beginning 14 ± 0.5 h after the achieved activity threshold (n=132) or first standing event (n=59), or both (n=59). Progesterone at the first ovarian scan (0.1 ± 0.01 ng/mL) and ovarian structures [1 or 2 preovulatory-sized follicles (16.5 ± 0.2 mm)] confirmed that 88.6% of cows identified by activity were in estrus. The remaining 15 cows (11.4%) with a corpus luteum and elevated progesterone concentration (5.3 ± 0.5 ng/mL) were classified as false positives. The average interval from first standing event to ovulation (n=59) differed slightly from the interval after the achieved threshold (26.4 ± 0.7 vs. 24.6 ± 0.7 h, respectively). In 97 cows fitted with activity monitors, that interval was 25.7 ± 0.4 h. In experiment 2, the conception risk in 394 cows in 1 herd fitted with activity monitors was compared with that of 413 cows submitted to a timed AI program through 3 AI services. Days to first AI were reduced in cows fitted with activity monitors, and conception risk after activity threshold was less than that for timed AI at first service because of differing days in milk at first AI. Both median and mean days to pregnancy, however, were reduced in activity-group cows by 10 and 24 d, respectively, compared with timed AI cows. In experiment 3, 4,019 cows in 19 herds were inseminated after achieving the activity threshold. Conception risk was determined for cows inseminated at various intervals after the achieved activity threshold. A curvilinear conception risk curve peaked at 47.9% for primiparous cows inseminated between 13 and 16 h, whereas conception risk in multiparous cows was steady at 34% through 12 h and decreased thereafter. These experiments demonstrate that time of ovulation after activity threshold closely resembles the time of ovulation after first standing estrus. Time of insemination up to 12h after the activity threshold produced similar conception risks for multiparous cows, whereas intervals shorter than 13 and greater than 16 h in primiparous cows seemed to compromise their conception risk. Although conception risk may not be improved at individual inseminations after achieving an activity threshold, the rate of achieving pregnancy is hastened. Activity monitors can accurately predict ovulation and time of AI.

Factors at Insemination and Subsequent Conception of Cattle under Heat-Stress Tie-Stall Environments.

This research aimed to compare the conception rates among AI at 12, 24, and 36 h after estrus in cattle living in tie-stall barns in a tropical environment. The second study was to determine factors at insemination at 24 h after estrus, including secondary signs of estrus behavior, reproductive tract characteristics, and heat-stress factors, in relation to conception. The study was conducted on 22 tie-stall dairy farms in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After secondary signs of estrus were observed, all farmers were informed for data collection at the insemination time. Repeated logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with conception. The results revealed that cattle inseminated 24 h after estrus detection had the highest conception rate (67.5%). The study also found that cattle with three or two secondary estrus signs before insemination had a higher risk of conception than those with only one sign. Interestingly, there was an increased risk of conception when sticky or no cervical mucus was observed during insemination (OR = 6.85 and OR = 5.96, respectively). Moreover, increases in body temperature and ambient relative humidity were related to a decrease in the chances of conception. This study recommends delaying insemination to 24 h after the initiation of secondary estrus signs. Multiple signs of estrus, sticky cervical mucus, and lower body temperature increased conception risk in dairy cattle living in tie-stall barns in a heat-stress environment.

Women are more likely to wear red or pink at peak fertility.

Although females of many species closely related to humans signal their fertile window in an observable manner, often involving red or pink coloration, no such display has been found for humans. Building on evidence that men are sexually attracted to women wearing or surrounded by red, we tested whether women show a behavioral tendency toward wearing reddish clothing when at peak fertility. Across two samples (N = 124), women at high conception risk were more than 3 times more likely to wear a red or pink shirt than were women at low conception risk, and 77% of women who wore red or pink were found to be at high, rather than low, risk. Conception risk had no effect on the prevalence of any other shirt color. Our results thus suggest that red and pink adornment in women is reliably associated with fertility and that female ovulation, long assumed to be hidden, is associated with a salient visual cue.

Handsome or Rugged? : A Speed-Dating Study of Ovulatory Shifts in Women's Preferences for Masculinity in Men.

We tested the good genes ovulatory shift hypothesis through speed-dating, an ecologically valid paradigm with real life consequences. Fifteen speed-dating sessions of 262 single Asian Americans were held. We analyzed 850 speed-dates involving 132 men and 100 normally ovulating women, finding ovulatory shifts in the desirability of men with more masculine facial measurements (smaller eye-mouth-eye angle, larger lower face to full face height ratio, and smaller facial width to lower face height ratio) in the predicted direction. However, there was no support for ovulatory shifts in preferences for men's self-reported height. In addition, the expected shifts were not found for women's second date offers to men. Therefore, with natural stimuli and in a competitive dating scenario, we partially replicated previously documented ovulatory shifts in women's preferences for men.

Postpartum uterine diseases and their impacts on conception and days open in dairy herds in Italy.

The objective of this study was to describe the incidence and the impact of postpartum uterine diseases in postpartum cows on future uterine status and reproductive performance in large Italian dairy herds. This study provides an important quantitative estimate of uterine and postpartum diseases incidence that afflict high-producing Italian dairy cows. The total number of cows included in the study was 1498 on three farms; all cows were followed from the dry period until 300 days postpartum. All farms used high-quality data collection systems and standard operating procedures: weekly herd health visits, monthly Dairy Herd Improvement Association visits, and, due to cheese-making milk quality requirements, a supplementary milk sample collected at 7 ± 3 days postpartum evaluated for milk components. Clinical metritis in primiparous cows did not change the time to the first artificial insemination (AI) or days open; conversely, clinical metritis in multiparous cows had impact on the time to first AI (hazard ratio: 0.66, P < 0.01) and resulted in a lower conception rate at first insemination and a increase in days open (odds ratio: 0.64, P < 0.05). Clinical endometritis had a strong deleterious effect on first AI conception rate (odds ratio: 0.34, P < 0.05) and days open across all lactations (hazard ratio: 0.68, P < 0.05). Persistent metritis, defined as the presence of both clinical metritis and clinical endometritis in the same animal in the same lactation, caused low conception rate both in the first-lactation and in older cows and had a strong negative effect on the proportion of pregnant cows at 300 days (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the impact of endometritis on fertility was true across lactation groups. A good management and precocious diagnosis of the pathologies is not resolutive to restore good fertility parameters, and understanding the immune response in first-lactation cows may be of value for developing alternative intervention protocols for older-lactation cows.

Pesquisa de los riesgos preconcepcional y prenatal / Screening of the pre-conception and prenatal risks

La evaluación del riesgo reproductivo a nivel comunitario incluye el diagnóstico de las condiciones que significan un peligro potencial para el desarrollo saludable de la gestación y el niño. En el presente trabajo se muestran los resultados de la pesquisa de los riesgos preconcepcional y prenatal en mujeres en edad fértil y gestantes, respectivamente, residentes en la provincia de Las Tunas. Se revisaron los registros y reportes estadísticos del Centro Provincial de Genética Médica correspondientes a los años 2007 y 2008 para tomar el universo de mujeres a evaluar y las estudiadas, con lo que se calculó la cobertura de ambos programas. Se determinaron las frecuencias relacionadas con los riesgos por cada condición de riesgo: cromosomopatías, hemoglobinopatías, malformaciones congénitas, teratogenicidad y otras afecciones hereditarias. El 55,0 por ciento de las mujeres evaluadas durante el último año y el 79,3 por ciento en el 2007 fue clasificada con algún riesgo preconcepcional, con un predominio de las cromosomopatías como criterio más frecuente de riesgo. El 40,7 por ciento de las 5 746 gestantes atendidas en el 2008 fue considerada con riesgos prenatales, por debajo del 49,2 por ciento en el año precedente. El riesgo por cromosomopatía fue el predominante en la evaluación prenatal, presente en 62,1 por ciento y 71,3 por ciento de las gestantes en el 2007 y el 2008, respectivamente, a expensas del embarazo en la adolescencia. Se requiere de criterios uniformes para la evaluación del riesgo genético en las mujeres, a las que se les ofrece un seguimiento especializado por los servicios comunitarios de Genética e interconsultas con otras especialidades

The assessment of reproductive risk at community level includes the diagnosis of conditions that are a potential risk for the healthy development of pregnancy and the baby. In the present paper the results of a screening of the pre-conception and prenatal risks in women of fertile age and pregnants, respectively, resident of the Las Tunas provinceare shown. The authors analyzed the registries and statistical reports from the Provincial Central of Medical Genetic corresponding to years 2007 and 2008 in order to include both the universe of women assessed and studied, estimating the coverage of both programs. The frequencies related to each risk condition, e.g. chromosomal diseases, hemoglobinopathies, birth defects, theratogenicity and other hereditary affections were al determined. 55.0 percent of women assessed during the last year and 79.3 percent in 2007 were classified with some pre-conception risk with a predominance of chromosomal diseases as the most frequent criterion of risk. The 40,7 percent of the 5 746 pregnants seen in 2008 was considered in prenatal risks, a figure under the 49,2 percent in the previous year. The risk of chromosomal disease was predominant in the prenatal assessment, present in the 62,1 percent and the 71,3 percent of pregnants in 2007 and 2008, respectively, at the expense of the pregnant during adolescence. It is necessary the presence of uniform criteria to assess the genetic risk in women who receive a specialized follow-up by Genetics community services and inter-consultation with other specialties

Pesquisa de los riesgos preconcepcional y prenatal / Screening of the pre-conception and prenatal risks

La evaluación del riesgo reproductivo a nivel comunitario incluye el diagnóstico de las condiciones que significan un peligro potencial para el desarrollo saludable de la gestación y el niño. En el presente trabajo se muestran los resultados de la pesquisa de los riesgos preconcepcional y prenatal en mujeres en edad fértil y gestantes, respectivamente, residentes en la provincia de Las Tunas. Se revisaron los registros y reportes estadísticos del Centro Provincial de Genética Médica correspondientes a los años 2007 y 2008 para tomar el universo de mujeres a evaluar y las estudiadas, con lo que se calculó la cobertura de ambos programas. Se determinaron las frecuencias relacionadas con los riesgos por cada condición de riesgo: cromosomopatías, hemoglobinopatías, malformaciones congénitas, teratogenicidad y otras afecciones hereditarias. El 55,0 por ciento de las mujeres evaluadas durante el último año y el 79,3 por ciento en el 2007 fue clasificada con algún riesgo preconcepcional, con un predominio de las cromosomopatías como criterio más frecuente de riesgo. El 40,7 por ciento de las 5 746 gestantes atendidas en el 2008 fue considerada con riesgos prenatales, por debajo del 49,2 por ciento en el año precedente. El riesgo por cromosomopatía fue el predominante en la evaluación prenatal, presente en 62,1 por ciento y 71,3 por ciento de las gestantes en el 2007 y el 2008, respectivamente, a expensas del embarazo en la adolescencia. Se requiere de criterios uniformes para la evaluación del riesgo genético en las mujeres, a las que se les ofrece un seguimiento especializado por los servicios comunitarios de Genética e interconsultas con otras especialidades (AU)

The assessment of reproductive risk at community level includes the diagnosis of conditions that are a potential risk for the healthy development of pregnancy and the baby. In the present paper the results of a screening of the pre-conception and prenatal risks in women of fertile age and pregnants, respectively, resident of the Las Tunas provinceare shown. The authors analyzed the registries and statistical reports from the Provincial Central of Medical Genetic corresponding to years 2007 and 2008 in order to include both the universe of women assessed and studied, estimating the coverage of both programs. The frequencies related to each risk condition, e.g. chromosomal diseases, hemoglobinopathies, birth defects, theratogenicity and other hereditary affections were al determined. 55.0 percent of women assessed during the last year and 79.3 percent in 2007 were classified with some pre-conception risk with a predominance of chromosomal diseases as the most frequent criterion of risk. The 40,7 percent of the 5 746 pregnants seen in 2008 was considered in prenatal risks, a figure under the 49,2 percent in the previous year. The risk of chromosomal disease was predominant in the prenatal assessment, present in the 62,1 percent and the 71,3 percent of pregnants in 2007 and 2008, respectively, at the expense of the pregnant during adolescence. It is necessary the presence of uniform criteria to assess the genetic risk in women who receive a specialized follow-up by Genetics community services and inter-consultation with other specialties (AU)

Pesquisa de los riesgos preconcepcional y prenatal / Screening of the pre-conception and prenatal risks

La evaluación del riesgo reproductivo a nivel comunitario incluye el diagnóstico de las condiciones que significan un peligro potencial para el desarrollo saludable de la gestación y el niño. En el presente trabajo se muestran los resultados de la pesquisa de los riesgos preconcepcional y prenatal en mujeres en edad fértil y gestantes, respectivamente, residentes en la provincia de Las Tunas. Se revisaron los registros y reportes estadísticos del Centro Provincial de Genética Médica correspondientes a los años 2007 y 2008 para tomar el universo de mujeres a evaluar y las estudiadas, con lo que se calculó la cobertura de ambos programas. Se determinaron las frecuencias relacionadas con los riesgos por cada condición de riesgo: cromosomopatías, hemoglobinopatías, malformaciones congénitas, teratogenicidad y otras afecciones hereditarias. El 55,0 por ciento de las mujeres evaluadas durante el último año y el 79,3 por ciento en el 2007 fue clasificada con algún riesgo preconcepcional, con un predominio de las cromosomopatías como criterio más frecuente de riesgo. El 40,7 por ciento de las 5 746 gestantes atendidas en el 2008 fue considerada con riesgos prenatales, por debajo del 49,2 por ciento en el año precedente. El riesgo por cromosomopatía fue el predominante en la evaluación prenatal, presente en 62,1 por ciento y 71,3 por ciento de las gestantes en el 2007 y el 2008, respectivamente, a expensas del embarazo en la adolescencia. Se requiere de criterios uniformes para la evaluación del riesgo genético en las mujeres, a las que se les ofrece un seguimiento especializado por los servicios comunitarios de Genética e interconsultas con otras especialidades (AU)

The assessment of reproductive risk at community level includes the diagnosis of conditions that are a potential risk for the healthy development of pregnancy and the baby. In the present paper the results of a screening of the pre-conception and prenatal risks in women of fertile age and pregnants, respectively, resident of the Las Tunas provinceare shown. The authors analyzed the registries and statistical reports from the Provincial Central of Medical Genetic corresponding to years 2007 and 2008 in order to include both the universe of women assessed and studied, estimating the coverage of both programs. The frequencies related to each risk condition, e.g. chromosomal diseases, hemoglobinopathies, birth defects, theratogenicity and other hereditary affections were al determined. 55.0 percent of women assessed during the last year and 79.3 percent in 2007 were classified with some pre-conception risk with a predominance of chromosomal diseases as the most frequent criterion of risk. The 40.7 percent of the 5 746 pregnants seen in 2008 was considered in prenatal risks, a figure under the 49.2 percent in the previous year. The risk of chromosomal disease was predominant in the prenatal assessment, present in the 62.1 percent and the 71.3 percent of pregnants in 2007 and 2008, respectively, at the expense of the pregnant during adolescence. It is necessary the presence of uniform criteria to assess the genetic risk in women who receive a specialized follow-up by Genetics community services and inter-consultation with other specialties (AU)