Short Communication: effect of positive handling of sows on litter performance and pre-weaning piglet mortality.

Fear and environmental stressors may negatively affect the welfare of farm animals such as pigs. The present study investigated the effects of music and positive handling on reproductive performance of sows (n = 1014; parity 1 to 8) from a commercial pig farm practicing a batch farrowing system. Every 2 weeks, 56 sows were moved from the gestation unit to conventional-crated farrowing houses 1 week prior to expected farrowing. Treated (T; n = 299) and control (C; n = 715) sows were included in the study. In the farrowing houses, auditory enrichment (music from a radio) was provided to sows of T groups daily from 0600 to 1800 h until the end of lactation. Until the day of farrowing, T sows were additionally subjected, for 15 s per day per sow, to continuous back scratching by one member of farm staff. Litter performance and piglet mortality were recorded and analysed between T and C sows using linear mixed regression models. The number of liveborn piglets (C 13.85 v. T 13.26) and liveborn corrected for fostering (C 13.85 v. T 13.43) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in C groups compared to the T groups. The number of stillborn piglets was 0.60 and 0.72 in T and C groups, respectively (P > 0.05). With regard to piglet mortality, a linear mixed regression model showed a significant overall effect of treatment in reducing piglet mortality (P < 0.01). Yet, the effect of treatment varied according to litter size (number of liveborn piglets) with a diminishing treatment effect in sows with a high litter size (P < 0.01). Pre-weaning survival was improved in the current study by the combined effect of daily back scratching of sows prior to farrowing and providing music to sows and piglets during lactation. Further research is needed to assess the separate effects of both interventions.

Polymeric drug based on sulfanilamide: synthesis, antimicrobial and drug releasing studies.

N-((4-amino sulfonyl)phenyl)acrylamide (APA) was synthesized using sulfanilamide and acryloyl chloride in the presence of triethyl amine at 0-5 degrees C. Homo- and co-polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) and acrylic acid (AA) were done by adopting a solution polymerization technique using methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) as a solvent and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as a free radical initiator at 70 +/- 1 degrees C. All the monomers and polymers were characterized by IR and NMR techniques. These monomers and polymers were tested for their antimicrobial activity against five different ATCC strain microorganisms (Escherichia coli (25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (27853), Klebsiella (70063), Salmonella typhi (6539) and Staphylococcus aureus (25923)). The effect of co-monomer, other than the active drug moiety present in the polymeric drug, is discussed. The antimicrobial activity of APA on Gram-positive bacteria was enhanced when copolymerized with AA and HEA. The polymer was made into a film form and that film was used for drug releasing study. The drug releasing rate was monitored by the absorption at 268 nm using a UV spectrophotometer. The effect of pH and the temperature on the drug releasing rate was monitored and found that the releasing rate was dependent on the co-monomer, pH and temperature of the medium.

Maternal mortality in southern India.

In a 4 year prospective community survey of 20,000 women randomly selected in North Arcot District of Tamil Nadu State in South India, the maternal mortality rates per 1,000 liveborn were estimated to be 17.4 and 16.6 for rural and semi-urban areas, respectively. The rates based only on direct causes were 11.9 in rural and 14.4 in semi-urban areas. As expected, these figures are considerably higher than those based on official or hospital statistics. Factors associated with such high mortality and the implications for programme planning and implementation are discussed.

PIP: Results of a prospective study conducted in 1970-73 in a rural block (K.V. Kuppam) and in the semi-urban town of Vellore, capital of North Arcot District, India, were presented. The sample included 11,532 rural married women and 8821 semi-urban married women. Every reproductive age woman in the sample was visited once every five weeks and until 6 weeks after a pregnancy. 14,147 pregnancies occurred during 1970-73, of which 10,691 were single live births, 3359 were single fetal deaths, and 97 were multiple births. Over 80% of fetal deaths occurred prior to 20 weeks gestation, and a majority occurred between 8 and 12 weeks gestation. The death rate was 9.6/4 per 1000 women annually in rural and 10.2/4 in semi-urban areas. The rural maternal mortality deaths were 52 (46.9%) for direct causes, 24 (21.6%) for indirect causes, and 35 (31.5%) for non-maternal causes. The respective maternal mortality numbers for semi-urban areas were 40 (44.4%), 6 (0.7%), and 44 (48.9%). 20 rural maternal deaths occurred during pregnancy, 12 occurred during delivery, and 20 occurred postpartum. The semi-urban maternal mortality was 8 during pregnancy, 8 during delivery, and 24 postpartum. The total maternal mortality rate was 17.4 per 1000 live births in rural and 16.6 per 1000 in semi-urban areas. Total maternal mortality for direct causes only was 11.9 per 1000 in rural and 14.4 per 1000 in semi-urban areas. The all- India maternal mortality rate was 17 per 1000, which accounted for 140 deaths per day.