-
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... May 2024Automated activity monitoring (AAM) systems are critical in the dairy industry for detecting estrus and optimizing the timing of artificial insemination (AI), thus...
Automated activity monitoring (AAM) systems are critical in the dairy industry for detecting estrus and optimizing the timing of artificial insemination (AI), thus enhancing pregnancy success rates in cows. This study developed a predictive model to improve pregnancy success by integrating AAM data with cow-specific and environmental factors. Utilizing data from 1,054 cows, this study compared the pregnancy outcomes between two AI timings-8 or 10 h post-AAM alarm. Variables such as age, parity, body condition, locomotion, and vaginal discharge scores, peripartum diseases, the breeding program, the bull used for AI, milk production at the time of AI, and environmental conditions (season, relative humidity, and temperature-humidity index) were considered alongside the AAM data on rumination, activity, and estrus intensity. Six predictive models were assessed to determine their efficacy in predicting pregnancy success: logistic regression, Bagged AdaBoost algorithm, linear discriminant, random forest, support vector machine, and Bagged Classification Tree. Integrating the on-farm data with AAM significantly enhanced the pregnancy prediction accuracy at AI compared to using AAM data alone. The random forest models showed a superior performance, with the highest Kappa statistic and lowest false positive rates. The linear discriminant and logistic regression models demonstrated the best accuracy, minimal false negatives, and the highest area under the curve. These findings suggest that combining on-farm and AAM data can significantly improve reproductive management in the dairy industry.
PubMed: 38891614
DOI: 10.3390/ani14111567 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... May 2024This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the performance of hormone treatment protocols, determine the factors associated with pregnancy success after hormone...
This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the performance of hormone treatment protocols, determine the factors associated with pregnancy success after hormone treatment, and compare the cost-efficiencies of two types of hormone treatment among cyclic and noncyclic anestrous dairy cows. The clinical records of 279 anestrous cows that received hormone treatment for artificial insemination (AI) from 64 herds in the western region of Thailand were obtained from Kasetsart University Veterinary Teaching Hospital from January to August 2017. The performance of the hormone treatment protocols, fixed-time AI (TAI) and estrus detection before AI (EAI), showed that the pregnancy risk for the TAI protocol was higher than that for the EAI protocol, but pregnancy per AI did not differ significantly between the two protocols in cyclic and noncyclic cows. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that cows receiving the TAI protocol were more likely to be pregnant compared to those treated with the EAI protocol. Cows with a 3.00 body condition score (BCS) < 3.75 after treatment and loose-housed cows were more likely to become pregnant. Treatment during winter showed higher pregnancy success than that in the summer and rainy seasons. The cost-efficiency analysis showed that the TAI protocol was the most cost-efficient option for noncyclic cows, whereas the EAI protocol was the most cost-efficient option for cyclic cows.
PubMed: 38891611
DOI: 10.3390/ani14111564 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... May 2024This review aims to provide an insight into the application and efficiency of CIDR-based protocols for ES in goats raised under tropical and subtropical environments. In... (Review)
Review
This review aims to provide an insight into the application and efficiency of CIDR-based protocols for ES in goats raised under tropical and subtropical environments. In temperate regions, short-term CIDR treatments are replacing long-term treatments and sponges used in earlier decades. In addition, the use of co-treatments for the induction of ovulation is gradually changing from hormonal to non-hormonal methods, given the drive towards clean, green, and ethical techniques for reproductive management. Whereas the subtropical region registers ongoing research in the development of new ES protocols, there are few reports from the tropics, particularly Africa, one of the regions with the highest population of goats. Therefore, this calls for research to develop the most appropriate protocols for these regions, since the protocols currently used are largely hormonal based, as they were developed for goats at higher latitudes. Management and environmental factors determine the breeding pattern of goats at tropical latitudes rather than photoperiods, and they are the main causes of reproductive seasonality. The use of ES methods, particularly short-term CIDR-based protocols, along with artificial insemination, may have a significant impact on the productivity of goats in these regions when these factors are controlled.
PubMed: 38891607
DOI: 10.3390/ani14111560 -
Animal Reproduction Science Jun 2024This study aimed to compare the inter-software and inter-observer reliability and agreement for the assessment of follicular and luteal morphometry and echotexture...
This study aimed to compare the inter-software and inter-observer reliability and agreement for the assessment of follicular and luteal morphometry and echotexture parameters in beef crossbreed females (3/8 Bos taurus indicus and 5/8 Bos taurus taurus). B-mode and color Doppler ultrasonographic ovarian images were obtained at specific time points of estradiol-progesterone-based protocols for timed artificial insemination (TAI). Sonograms were analyzed by two observers using a licensed (IASP1) and an open access (IASP2) software package. A total of 292 snap-shot sonograms were analyzed for morphometric parameters and 504 for echotexture parameters. inter-software reliability was judged moderate to excellent (ICC or CCC=0.73-0.98), whereas inter-observer reliability for morphometric parameters was deemed good to excellent (ICC or CCC=0.82-0.98). A small percentage (up to 10.95 %) of measured parameters fell outside the limits of inter-software and inter-observer agreement. For echotexture parameters, inter-software reliability varied widely (ICC or CCC=0.16-0.95) based on the size of regions of interest (ROI), while inter-observer reliability ranged from moderate to excellent (ICC or CCC= 0.71-0.97). The highest inter-software reliability for pixel value and heterogeneity value was observed for the corpus luteum (ICCs=0.81-0.95; P>0.05), followed by the peripheral follicular antrum (ICCs=0.75-0.78; P<0.05). However, lower reliability was determined for the follicular wall (ICCs=0.08-0.33; P<0.0001) and perifollicular stroma (ICCs=0.16-0.46; P<0.05). In conclusion, both software packages showed high reproducibility for morphometric measurements, while echotexture measurements were more challenging to replicate based on ROI sizes. Caution is advised when selecting ROI sizes for echotexture measurements in bovine ovaries.
PubMed: 38889613
DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2024.107518 -
Veterinary Medicine and Science Jul 2024Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) serves as a crucial parameter in assessing the reproductive herd life and ovarian reserve in cattle. Consequently, extensive research is...
BACKGROUND
Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) serves as a crucial parameter in assessing the reproductive herd life and ovarian reserve in cattle. Consequently, extensive research is conducted on AMH levels. Various measurement methods can be employed to determine AMH levels. However, to our knowledge, no study has been conducted on Holstein donors using the Elecsys AMH kit.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed to determine AMH levels in donors utilising the Elecsys® AMH kit and to evaluate the relationship between superovulation response parameters and AMH levels.
METHODS
In this study, we measured the serum AMH levels of 36 cows using the Elecsys AMH automated assay before the superovulation protocol (1st sample) and FSH injections (2nd sample). The cows were categorised into three groups based on their AMH levels: low, medium, and high AMH.
RESULTS
Positive correlations were identified between AMH and parameters associated with superovulation response. The high AMH level group exhibited significantly greater numbers of corpus luteum, total embryos, transferable embryos, and grade 1 embryos compared to the medium and low AMH groups (p < 0.05) There was no significant difference between AMH levels before the superovulation protocol and FSH injections(p > 0.05). Body condition score and parity did not significantly affect AMH levels in cows (p > 0.05). Also, AMH cut-off values for the number of corpus luteum, total embryo, and transferable embryos were detected as 234, 227, and 210 pg/mL, respectively.
CONCLUSION
These findings demonstrate that a high serum AMH level has a positive influence on the superovulation response. AMH can be used as a reliable marker for the selection of donors in Holstein cows.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Mullerian Hormone; Cattle; Superovulation; Female
PubMed: 38889090
DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1509 -
Veterinary Microbiology Jun 2024In April 2020, two cows in Japan, developed reproductive disorders accompanied by vaginitis with purulent discharge within 3 days of artificial insemination (AI) with...
In April 2020, two cows in Japan, developed reproductive disorders accompanied by vaginitis with purulent discharge within 3 days of artificial insemination (AI) with the same lot of frozen semen. Histophilus somni was isolated from the vaginal swabs of both cows as well as from the same lot of frozen semen used for the AI. This incident marks the first reported case of H. somni infection in cattle through AI. The major outer membrane protein gene sequences and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles of the isolates were identical. Moreover, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of 12 frozen semen straws against an H. somni isolate using a disk diffusion test. These straws were sourced from five AI centers and included the same lot of semen used for the AI. Although the composition of semen diluents from individual AI centers is not publicly available, both the same lot of frozen semen used in the AI and other lots produced by the same manufacturer showed lower antimicrobial activity than semen from other manufacturers. These results strongly suggest that the two vaginitis were caused by AI using H. somni-contaminated frozen semen because of insufficient antimicrobial activity to inhibit bacterial growth. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the six antimicrobials recommended for addition to frozen semen in isolates were below the recommended concentrations, suggesting that proper addition could have prevented this incident. This highlights the importance of conducting periodical checks on the antibacterial activity of frozen semen to prevent the transmission of pathogens via AI.
PubMed: 38885549
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2024.110147 -
Harefuah Jun 2024The article, which focuses only on the prevention of the sperm and/or the frozen embryo mix-up, will begin by elaborating on the acute need to prevent the next gamete...
The article, which focuses only on the prevention of the sperm and/or the frozen embryo mix-up, will begin by elaborating on the acute need to prevent the next gamete and zygote mix-up scenario. Afterwards, it will explore the practical methods already existing and the technologies. The main chapter will suggest the possible artificial intelligence technologies in the narrow field of artificial insemination for achieving that goal.
Topics: Humans; Artificial Intelligence; Insemination, Artificial; Male; Female; Cryopreservation; Spermatozoa
PubMed: 38884286
DOI: No ID Found -
Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence 2024The most common Assisted Reproductive Technology is Fertilization (IVF). During IVF, embryologists commonly perform a morphological assessment to evaluate embryo...
BACKGROUND
The most common Assisted Reproductive Technology is Fertilization (IVF). During IVF, embryologists commonly perform a morphological assessment to evaluate embryo quality and choose the best embryo for transferring to the uterus. However, embryo selection through morphological assessment is subjective, so various embryologists obtain different conclusions. Furthermore, humans can consider only a limited number of visual parameters resulting in a poor IVF success rate. Artificial intelligence (AI) for embryo selection is objective and can include many parameters, leading to better IVF outcomes.
OBJECTIVES
This study sought to use AI to (1) predict pregnancy results based on embryo images, (2) assess using more than one image of the embryo in the prediction of pregnancy but based on the current process in IVF labs, and (3) compare results of AI-Based methods and embryologist experts in predicting pregnancy.
METHODS
A data set including 252 Time-lapse Videos of embryos related to IVF performed between 2017 and 2020 was collected. Frames related to 19 ± 1, 43 ± 1, and 67 ± 1 h post-insemination were extracted. Well-Known CNN architectures with transfer learning have been applied to these images. The results have been compared with an algorithm that only uses the final image of embryos. Furthermore, the results have been compared with five experienced embryologists.
RESULTS
To predict the pregnancy outcome, we applied five well-known CNN architectures (AlexNet, ResNet18, ResNet34, Inception V3, and DenseNet121). DeepEmbryo, using three images, predicts pregnancy better than the algorithm that only uses one final image. It also can predict pregnancy better than all embryologists. Different well-known architectures can successfully predict pregnancy chances with up to 75.0% accuracy using Transfer Learning.
CONCLUSION
We have developed DeepEmbryo, an AI-based tool that uses three static images to predict pregnancy. Additionally, DeepEmbryo uses images that can be obtained in the current IVF process in almost all IVF labs. AI-based tools have great potential for predicting pregnancy and can be used as a proper tool in the future.
PubMed: 38881952
DOI: 10.3389/frai.2024.1375474 -
Veterinary Medicine and Science Jul 2024The metabolic impacts of including soya meal, wheat gluten and corn gluten in the diet of male lambs could influence their reproductive performance.
BACKGROUND
The metabolic impacts of including soya meal, wheat gluten and corn gluten in the diet of male lambs could influence their reproductive performance.
OBJECTIVES
An experiment was carried out to assess the effects of corn gluten, wheat gluten and soya meal on the reproductive system of male lambs.
METHODS
Twenty-four male Morkaraman lambs, aged 9 months, were utilized in this study and were fed experimental diets for 56 days. The lambs were divided into a control group (soybean meal + safflower meal), a corn group (corn gluten) and a wheat group (wheat gluten).
RESULTS
The serum follicle-stimulating hormone level of the control group was significantly higher and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) level was lower than the wheat and corn gluten groups (p < 0.05). The lowest malondialdehyde level in testicular tissue was observed in the control group, whereas the highest was in the wheat gluten group (p < 0.05). The glutathione level in the control group was significantly higher than in the other groups (p < 0.05). The corn gluten group showed the highest CHOP and IRE1 levels; the lowest Bcl-2 levels and the highest IL-1B and P2 × 7R levels were found in the wheat group; and the lowest TNF-α levels were in the control group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the study revealed that diet had a significant impact on spermatological parameters of the testis such as diameter, volume and weight (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
These results concluded that the inclusion of different protein sources in the diet of reproductive male lambs affects the metabolism of testicular tissue.
Topics: Animals; Male; Diet; Animal Feed; Testis; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; Spermatozoa; Semen Analysis; Sheep, Domestic; Sheep; Triticum; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Zea mays; Glycine max
PubMed: 38879885
DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1504 -
Journal of Biochemical and Molecular... Jul 2024Paclitaxel (PTX), which is actively used in the treatment of many types of cancer, has a toxic effect by causing increased oxidative stress in testicular tissues....
Naringin protects against paclitaxel-induced toxicity in rat testicular tissues by regulating genes in pro-inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and JNK/MAPK signaling pathways.
Paclitaxel (PTX), which is actively used in the treatment of many types of cancer, has a toxic effect by causing increased oxidative stress in testicular tissues. Naringin (NRG) is a natural flavonoid found in plants, and its antioxidant properties are at the forefront. This study aims to investigate the protective feature of NRG in PTX-induced testicular toxicity. Thirty-five male Sprague rats were divided into five groups: control, NRG, PTX, PTX + NRG50, and PTX + NRG100. Rats were administered PTX (2 mg/kg, BW) intraperitoneally once daily for the first 5 days. Then, between the 6th and 14th days, NRG (50 and 100 mg/kg) was administered orally once a day. NRG reduced PTX-induced lipid peroxidation and increased testicular tissue antioxidant capacity (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione). While NRG reduces the mRNA expression levels of nuclear factor kappa B, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-6, inducible-nitric oxide synthase, mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK)14, MAPK15, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, P53, Apaf1, Caspase3, Caspase6, Caspase9, and Bax in testicular tissues; it caused an increase in Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 and Bcl-2 levels. NRG also improved the structural and functional integrity of testicular tissue disrupted by PTX. PTX-induced sperm damage was alleviated by NRG. NRG showed a protective effect by alleviating the PTX-induced testicular toxicity by increasing oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and autophagy.
Topics: Animals; Male; Oxidative Stress; Testis; Rats; Flavanones; Paclitaxel; Apoptosis; MAP Kinase Signaling System; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Cytokines; Antioxidants
PubMed: 38879801
DOI: 10.1002/jbt.23751