Sustainable animal production: exploring the benefits of sperm sexing technologies in addressing critical industry challenges.

The sex of the animals is of paramount importance in many animal production systems. This is particularly evident in the production of milk or in breeding programs focused on the production of female animals. In some cases, slaughter or euthanasia of animals of the unwanted sex becomes the only solution, highlighting ethical and economic concerns. As global demand for food continues to rise, the importance of addressing these issues becomes more evident. Reproductive technologies, such as sperm sexing techniques, may hold the key to addressing both animal welfare and the sustainability of animal production. The use of semen enriched with sperm capable of producing offspring of the desired sex can serve as a valuable tool for producers to exert greater control over production outcomes, not only helping to mitigate welfare issues related to the unnecessary premature death of unwanted offspring but also providing a possible ally in the face of stricter animal welfare guidelines. In addition, sexed semen can also contribute to financial gains and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and food waste associated with the less profitable part of the herd. This paper explores the positive impacts that sperm sexing can have on animal welfare, economy, and environment. It also discusses currently available options and strategies for more successful implementation of sexed semen. Partnerships between companies and scientists will be essential to find innovative ways to adapt current production systems and develop sperm sexing technologies that apply to most livestock industries.

An immersive simulation strategy to teach canine vaginal cytology: A multi-centre study.

Vaginal cytology (VC) is an essential technique for monitoring the bitch's estrus cycle. Currently, animal-free teaching methodologies have not been investigated for VC. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate an immersive simulation with a VC model and augmented reality tools. Students (n = 219) from four universities were enrolled, having learning stations with models for practising VC that provided immediate feedback on the technique. Augmented reality tools comprised QR codes that endorsed students to short videos of owners' avatars reporting the clinical reproductive story of the simulated animals and slides with QR codes leading to microscopy slide navigation videos. Proestrus, estrus, diestrus, anestrus and vaginitis were identified in the learning stations. The students' perceptions were evaluated through questionnaires assessing satisfaction, motivation, confidence, impact on learning and diagnostic accuracy. Before the immersive simulation, students had no experience with VC, being afraid of doing a VC with a live dog. Almost all the students considered practicing VC as essential and 94% reported that repeating the procedure (>2 times) was the most important parameter for learning. The simulation activity lasted ≈3 h and significantly improved the confidence of students, being less afraid of doing a VC in a live animal. Slide navigation videos improved the diagnostic accuracy of the estrus cycle stage, and students diagnosed the estrus and vaginitis cases more accurately. The immersive simulation strategy allowed repeated practice in a safe, motivated and standardized environment, being appraised by students as an essential strategy for learning VC.

Epidemiology of major paediatric trauma in a European Country - trends of a decade.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates causes, characteristics and temporal trends of paediatric major trauma over a 10-year period and assesses potential preventive areas. METHODS: Single-centre retrospective study of paediatric trauma patients admitted to a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in a tertiary university hospital in Europe with a level 1 paediatric trauma centre, from 2009 to 2019. Paediatric major trauma patients were defined as patients aged < 18 years with Injury Severity Score > 12, admitted for intensive care for more than 24 h following trauma. Demographic, social and clinical information, including place and mechanism of trauma, injury pattern, pre-hospital and in-hospital procedures, and length of stay in PICU was extracted from PICU medical records. RESULTS: Total 358 patients included (age 11 ± 4,9 years; 67% male); 75% were involved in road traffic accidents: 30% motor vehicle collision, 25% pedestrian, 10% motorcycle and bicycle each. Falls from height injured 19% of children, 4% during sports activities. Main injuries were to head/neck (73%) and extremities (42%). The incidence of major trauma was highest in teenagers and did not show a decreasing trend during the study years. All fatalities (1,7%; n = 6) were related to head/neck injuries. Motor vehicle collisions resulted in higher need for blood transfusion (9 vs. 2 mL/kg, p = 0,006) and the highest ICU-mortality (83%; n = 5). Children in motorcycle accidents had longer ICU length-of-stay (6,4 vs. 4,2 days, p = 0,036). Pedestrians had 25% higher risk of head/neck injuries (RR 1,25; 1,07 - 1,46; p = 0,004), and higher incidence of severe brain injury (46% vs. 34%, p = 0,042). Most children in motor-vehicle/bicycle accidents were not using restraints/protective devices (45%) or were using them inappropriately (13%). CONCLUSIONS: Over the last decade, the absolute numbers of paediatric major trauma did not decrease. Road traffic accidents remain the leading cause of injury and death. Teenagers are at highest risk for severe trauma. Appropriate use of child restraints and protective equipment remain key for prevention.

Development and Validation of a Simulation Model for Collection of Canine Vaginal Samples.

Vaginal cytology is a widely used cytological technique mostly taught by observation, either through direct tutoring or videos. To the best of our knowledge, vaginal cytology simulators have never been assessed in veterinary medicine. Twenty-five undergraduate students with no prior experience in canine vaginal sampling were randomly assigned to two groups that either practiced the procedure in a simulator or a live animal. An inverted classroom design was followed. After observing a video tutorial, students practiced with the simulator/live animal for two classes. Three weeks later, they performed a vaginal cytology on a live animal being recorded. The videos were evaluated through an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) by an observer blinded to the student's groups. The learning outcome was compared through OSCE pass rates and questionnaires. The simulation model was made by 3D printing and soft silicone for the vulvar labia, having pink and blue colored vaseline in the correct and incorrect locations for sampling. The model was economic and accurately replicated the female reproductive tract. It provided immediate feedback to students, by obtaining pink or blue swabs from the correct and incorrect locations, respectively. Students reported that three to five or more attempts were needed to properly learn the procedure, thus justifying the need for a simulator. No differences in the OSCE pass rates were observed between the groups. The simulation model was effective for learning the vaginal cytology procedure, replacing the use of live animals. This low-cost model should be incorporated in the tool-kit of reproduction classes.

Differential sensitivity of aquatic life stages of Pelophylax perezi to an acidic metal-contaminated effluent.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) involves complex mixtures of metals and hydrogen ions that can be highly toxic to the biota. Assessing the effects of AMD to aquatic stages of amphibians is key, as this group constitutes the vertebrate class with the highest proportion of species considered as threatened. Thus, the present work aimed at assessing the sensitivity of two aquatic life stages of the green frog Pelophylax perezi to an AMD originated from a cupric-pyrite mine. Embryos (Gosner stages 10-11) and tadpoles (Gosner stages 20-21) of P. perezi were exposed, for 96 h, to six AMD dilutions (1.39% to 7.5%). Endpoints involving responses at different levels of biological organization were monitored: mortality, malformations, hatching rates, body length and growth rate, enzymatic activity related with detoxification metabolism (glutathione S-transferase), and histopathologies (anatomical structures of the digestive, respiratory, and excretory systems). Embryos presented high mortality and malformation rates at AMD levels equal or above 5.36%, as well as premature hatching at 1.95% of AMD or higher. A significant reduction in body length and growth rate occurred in embryos and tadpoles exposed to 1.95% or higher levels of AMD, respectively. At the histological level, several abnormalities were observed for AMD-exposed tadpoles in a variety of tissues. One of the most noticeable histological changes occurred in the intestine that exhibited papillary epithelial hyperplasia along with a yellowish content and was more pronounced in tadpoles exposed to higher AMD levels. FEmbryos were more sensitive to lethal levels of AMD than tadpoles, suggesting embryos as a useful model life stage when performing amphibian risk assessment of mine drainage. Furthermore, AMD was highly toxic for P. perezi aquatic life stages since levels as low as 1.95% induced lethal effects. These results emphasize the importance of implementing efficient remediation methodologies for AMD, given its high toxicity.

Bovine semen sexing: Sperm membrane proteomics as candidates for immunological selection of X- and Y-chromosome-bearing sperm.

The use of sexed semen in dairy and beef farms ensures the production of animals of the desired sex, resulting in a reduction of costs and an improvement of environmental sustainability. Several methods have been developed over the years, but most of them were abandoned due to their limited efficacy. Currently, the only commercially available method for the separation of X- and Y-chromosome-bearing sperm is fluorescence-activated cell sorting. However, this technique is expensive and has limited usefulness for the industry, considering that it cannot produce doses of sexed semen with the desired number of sperm for artificial insemination. Immunological methods have emerged as an attractive alternative to flow cytometry and proteomic knowledge of X- and Y-sperm could be useful to the development of a new method. In this review, we identify the main applications of sexed semen, describe the existing methods and highlight future research opportunities in the field. We consider that immunological methods, based on sperm cell's surface proteins differentially expressed between X- and Y-sperm, could be an interesting and promising approach to semen sexing.

Implementação de uma bundle para redução do risco de infeção no local cirúrgico em doentes submetidosa colecistectomia / Implementation of a bundle to reduce the risk of local infection in patients undergoing cholecystectomy

Surgical site infection (SSI) is an actual reality that has consequences, both economically and on the patient's wellbeing. An exploratory descriptive survey design was used in this research. The aim of the study is to evaluate and analyse the effectiveness of bundle implementation in the patient's undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This work emerged under a project "Stop Hospital Infection", created with the intent of implementing best practices and improve measures, to achieve a decrease in incidence and thus morbidity and mortality associated with acquired infections in patients at some Portuguese hospitals. A total of 333 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy were studied from February 1, 2016 to May 31, 2018. The data was collected during June 2018, through consultation of the clinical file and respective clinical audit with a checklist. The checklist was prepared in accordance with the evidence-based guidelines for the prevention of SSIs by the Department of Public Health in Portugal and included the patient demographic data. Of the total participants, 63% were female, aged between 20 and 87 years and with an average age of 60 years. We recorded an overall rate of SSI of 2% (n = 5), and the rate at start stage for this type of surgery was 13%. Given these results and accordingly to scientific evidence, holds that the implementation of a bundle with adherence rates that are greater than 95% reduces the SSI, we suggest that the surgical bundles should be performed and we should further study with a larger sample including comorbidities

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Role of the Calcium-Sensing Receptor (CaSR) in bovine gametes and during in vitro fertilization.

Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR) is a G-protein coupled receptor which senses extracellular calcium and activates diverse intracellular pathways. The objective of our work was to demonstrate the presence of CaSR in bovine gametes and its possible role in fertilization and embryo development. The location of CaSR was demonstrated by immunofluorescence in bovine gametes; additionally bovine sperm were incubated with 5, 10 and 15 µM of the specific CaSR inhibitor NPS2143 in a Tyrode's Albumin Lactate Pyruvate medium (4 h). Sperm viability was maintained for all concentrations tested while total motility decreased significantly at 10 and 15 µM. Addition of 15 µM of NPS2143 during oocyte in vitro maturation did not alter the maturation rate. When NPS2143 (15 µM) was added to the fertilization medium during sperm-oocyte co-incubation the cleavage, morula and blastocyst rates remained unchanged. To confirm if 15 µM of NPS2143 exerted any effect on embryo development, NPS2143 was added to the embryo culture medium. Cleavage rates remained unchanged when 15 µM of NPS2143 was added to the culture medium (79.1 ± 6.8 vs. 73.7 ± 5.3; mean % ± SEM; p > 0.05, control vs. inhibitor). By contrast, development to the morula (46.6 ± 7.3 vs. 24.3 ± 4.3; mean % ± SEM; p < 0.05) and blastocyst stages (29.9 ± 9.0 vs. 9.9 ± 3.6; mean % ± SEM; p < 0.05) decreased (control vs. inhibitor). Our results demonstrate a key role of CaSR on sperm motility and embryo development but not on oocyte maturation or fertilization in the bovine species.