Variation and frequency of supernumerary teats, litter size, histological features and the fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) gene expression pattern in goats.

Historically, female domestic goats carrying multiple kids are mostly unable to express sufficient nursing ability due to a limited number of functional teats. Therefore, the functional teat is an important component in prolific goat breeding, and plays a key role in the future health of their kids. With this motivation, we wanted to investigate the phenotypic features, litter size, histology of adult female mammary glands, and the gene expression profile of the fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) gene in goats. To illustrate this, the initial dataset of the current study consists of an electronic questionnaire that includes 697 individuals (548 does and 149 bucks) of five endemic and three exotic goats from 2015 to 2020 in different geographic areas of Iran, from 59 Markhoz (MARG), 50 Azari (AZAR), 73 Busheri (BUSH), 69 Sarbisheh (SARB), 165 Mahabadi (MOHA) indigenous goats and also exotic breeds, including 183 Saanen (SANN), 39 Alpine (ALPN), and 59 Boer (BORE) goats. The results of this study confirmed that MOHA goats (4.16%), BORE (4.43%) and SANN goat breeds (5.75%) have larger litter sizes. Interestingly, the evidence gathering when SNTs occurred showed that both the BUSH and BORE goat breeds had the highest frequency of SNTs. Moreover, under the same physiological and lactation conditions, there was no statistically significant difference in histological features between the three compared does class consist of the two teats, SNTs, and four functional teats. In addition, the results of the gene expression profile significantly highlight the FGF-2 gene pattern in two teat groups compared to other SNT groups (P < 0.01). In summary, this scenario can be used to generate further research and facts on responsible candidate genes, the variations in teat numbers in goats, examining both the incidence of SNT and litter size.

Effects of Yoga on Quality of Sleep of Women With Premenstrual Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) commonly complain of sleep disturbances, specifically in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Therefore, the effects of yoga on quality of sleep of women experiencing PMS was investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Women (aged 20-45 y) monitored for PMS, who were referred to the private obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Tabriz, Iran, were referred to the private obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Tabriz, Iran. Afterward, 62 women, were selected and divided into 2 groups, randomly: 31 subjects in yoga the yoga group and 31 in the control group. Subjects in yoga performed for 10 wk in 3 sessions, with each session lasting 60 min. Subjects in the control group did not perform any yoga. Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index questionnaire before and after yoga in both groups. RESULTS: After yoga intervention, subjects significantly expressed improvement in sleeping (P < .05). Based on the Mann-Whitney U test, a significant difference was observed in the subdomains of both groups on quality of sleep (P < .01), sleep latency (P < .01), and sleep efficiency (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Yoga reduced the disturbances of sleep in the subjects with PMS, which subsequently improved the efficiency of their sleep. Therefore, we conclude that yoga can be prescribed for improving sleep disturbances in women with PMS and medical therapy will probably be needed in severe situations.

Yoga positively affected depression and blood pressure in women with premenstrual syndrome in a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) often complain about depression when their menstrual cycle begins. This study investigated the effects of yoga on women with PMS suffering from depression during menstrual cycle. METHODS: This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted from April to October 2015 in Tabriz, Iran. All subjects (20-45 years old), who were frequently referred to the private obstetrics and gynecology clinics, were initially monitored for PMS and depression. Subjects completed the demographic and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) questionnaires before and after intervention. In addition, subjects were monitored for eligible and ineligible criteria. In this study 62 subjects were randomly selected for the yoga group and control groups. Subjects practiced yoga over two months in three sessions, the duration of each session was 60 min. RESULTS: The general score of the depression after yoga intervention was statistically significant compared to the control group (P < 0.036) and yoga group before intervention (P < 0.001). The diastolic pressure decreased significantly after yoga intervention (P < 0.029). Yoga decreased the state of depression and diastolic pressure of the subjects with PMS complaining from depression. CONCLUSION: We conclude that yoga has strong effects on depression symptoms and blood pressure, therefore it can be used as a complementary or alternative remedy for PMS patients.

Effect of α-linolenic acid on oocyte maturation and embryo development of prepubertal sheep oocytes.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of omega-3 α-linolenic acid (ALA) added to the IVM medium on embryo development of prepubertal sheep oocytes. Experiment 1 investigated the effect of ALA at different concentrations (0 [control], 50, 100, and 200 µM) and DMSO (100 µM) in IVM media on cumulus cell expansion and oocyte nuclear maturation and on synthesis of prostaglandins (PGE2 and PGF2α). Experiment 2 investigated the effects of ALA at different concentrations in the IVM medium on oocyte fertilization, cleavage, and developmental potential to blastocyst stage and changes in estradiol and progesterone concentrations in the spent IVM media. IVM oocytes were fertilized with frozen-thawed spermatozoa capacitated in a serum-free sperm medium. Presumptive zygotes were cultured 8 days in synthetic oviductal fluid (SOF) medium without serum. Blastocyst quality was assessed by counting total cell number and the number of apoptotic cells using Hoechst and Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Nuclear maturation of oocytes and the number of fully expanded cumulus cells were reduced after treatment with 200 µM of ALA compared with other groups (P ≤ 0.05). Supplementation with ALA increased both PGE2 and PGF2α concentrations in the spent media (P ≤ 0.05). No differences were observed in blastocyst development among control (12.2%) and 50, 100, and 200 µM ALA groups (6.9%, 11.5% and 14.0%, respectively). However, the total cell number (46.50 ± 5.85, 67.94 ± 6.71, 45.20 ± 6.37, and 59.80 ± 5.51, respectively; P ≤ 0.05) and apoptotic cell number (6.45 ± 0.89, 2.48 ± 0.81, 4.02 ± 1.15, and 3.67 ± 1.15, respectively; P ≤ 0.05) were significantly improved. After IVM, estradiol concentration was lower and progesterone concentration was higher in ALA groups compared with the control group (P ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, these results revealed that ALA affects prepubertal sheep embryo quality associated with alteration of releasing reproductive hormones.