BackgroundThe etiology of birth defects has been widely studied but is not yet fully clarified, previously published data had suggested that maternal age or parity maybe involved, but without consistent conclusions.MethodsA population-based, case-control study was nested in a cohort of perinatal infants born from 2010 to 2012 in Baoan District, Shenzhen. Four categories of isolated birth defects were defined as cases: congenital heart defects (CHD, n = 693), polydactyly (n = 352), cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P, n = 159) and equinovarus (n = 119). Controls were non-malformed infants (n = 11,307) randomly selected from the same area and period. Odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed by multivariable unconditional logistic regression analysis.ResultsYoung maternal age (<25 years old) was associated with a reduced risk of CHD (adjusted OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.59–0.90), while with an elevated risk of polydactyly (adjusted OR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.09-1.84). Increased risk of CL/P-affected pregnancy was observed in mothers older than 35 years old (adjusted OR = 2.12, 95% CI 1.26–3.57). Compared to primipara, those having their second, and third or more delivery were less likely to have infants with equinovarus, with significant adjusted ORs of 0.59 (0.40–0.89) and 0.42 (0.19–0.93), respectively.ConclusionMaternal age was significantly associated with CHD, polydactyly and CL/P relevant pregnancy. Mothers with higher parity might have lower risk of equinovarus occurrence in offsprings.

The present study investigated stocking density and genetic lines, factors that may alter the severity and incidence of angel wing (AW), in White Roman geese. Geese (n = 384) from two genetically selected lines (normal- winged line, NL, and angel-winged line, AL, respectively) and one commercial line (CL) were raised in four pens. Following common commercial practice, low-stocking-density (LD), medium-stocking-density, and high-stocking-density treatments were respectively administered to 24, 32, and 40 geese per pen at 0 to 3 weeks (1.92 m2/pen) and 4 to 6 weeks (13.2 m2/pen) of age and to 24, 30, and 36 geese at 7 to 14 weeks (20.0 m2/pen) of age. The results revealed that stocking density mainly affected body weight gain in geese younger than 4 weeks, and that geese subjected to LD had a high body weight at 2 weeks of age. However, the effect of stocking density on the severity score of AW (SSAW) and incidence of AW (IAW) did not differ significantly among the treatments. Differences were observed among the genetic stocks; that is, SSAW and IAW were significantly higher in AL than in NL and CL. Genetic selection generally aggravates AW, complicating its elimination. To effectively reduce IAW, stocking density, a suspected causal factor, should be lower than that presently applied commercially.

A selection experiment on maximum duration of fertility of Brown Tsaiya ducks after artificial insemination (AI) with pooled Muscovy semen has been conducted since 1992. The Brown Tsaiya ducks were divided into two lines: a control line (T) with no selection and a selected line (S). The traits measured were the number of eggs set that were laid from Days 2 to 15 after one AI (NES), the number of fertile eggs at candling (NEF), the total number of dead embryos (NED), the maximum duration of fertility (MD), and the number of hatched mule ducklings (NEH). The selected trait was NEF. Six generations with a total of 2,127 females were measured. The variance components were estimated for each line in a multiple-trait animal model, using the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) methodology, which yields estimates free of bias caused by selection and inbreeding. Estimates of the heritability and genetic correlation from the two lines were very similar. Heritabilities in the S and T lines, respectively, were 0.14 and 0.10 for NES, 0.30 and 0.26 for NEF, 0.06 and 0.09 for NED, 0.28 and 0.21 for MD, and 0.18 and 0.19 for NEH. High and favorable genetic correlations existed between NEF and MD (0.96 and 0.92), between NEF and NEH (0.86 and 0.91), and between MD and NEH (0.90 and 0.82). The results suggested that selection for NEF could improve the maximum duration of fertility, but it could be useful to check the estimates of genetic parameters in a meat-type female duck.

-A seven-generation selection experiment comprising a selected (S) and a control (C) line was conducted with the objective of increasing the number of fertile eggs (F) of the Brown Tsaiya duck after a single artificial insemination (AI) with pooled Muscovy semen. Both lines consisted of about 20 males and 60 females since parents in each generation and each female duck was tested 3 times, at 26, 29 and 32 weeks of age. The fertile eggs were measured by candling at day 7 of incubation. The selection criterion in the S line was the BLUP animal model value for F. On average, 24.7% of the females and 15% of the males were selected. The direct responses to the selection for F, and correlated responses for the number of eggs set (Ie), the number of total dead embryos (M), the maximum duration of fertility (Dm) and the number of hatched mule ducklings (H) were measured by studying the differences across the generations of selection between the phenotypic value averages in the S and C lines. The predicted genetic responses were calculated by studying the differences between the S and C lines in averaged values of five traits of the BLUP animal model. The selection responses and the predicted responses showed similar trends. There was no genetic change for Ie. After seven generations * Correspondence and reprints E-mail: taichein@mail.ncku.edu.tw 598 Y.S. Cheng et al.of selection, the average selection responses per generation were 0.40, 0.33, 0.42, 0.41 genetic standard deviation units for F, M, Dm, and H respectively. Embryo viability was not impaired by this selection. For days 2-8 after AI, the fertility rates (F/Ie) were 89.2% and 63.8%, the hatchability rates (H/F) were 72.5% and 70.6%, and (H/Ie) were 64.7% and 45.1% in the S and C lines respectively. It was concluded that upward selection on the number of fertile eggs after a single AI with pooled Muscovy semen may be effective in ducks to increase the duration of the fertile period and the fertility and hatchability rates with AI once a week instead of twice a week.selection response / fertile egg / Brown Tsaiya / Muscovy / duck

A 12-generation selection experiment involving a selected line (S) and a control line (C) has been conducted since 1992 with the aim of increasing the number of fertile eggs laid by the Brown Tsaiya duck after a single artificial insemination (AI) with pooled Muscovy semen. On average, 28.9% of the females and 17.05% of the males were selected. The selection responses and the predicted responses showed similar trends. The average predicted genetic responses per generation in genetic standard deviation units were 0.40 for the number of fertile eggs, 0.45 for the maximum duration of fertility, and 0.32 for the number of hatched mule ducklings' traits. The fertility rates for days 2–8 after AI were 89.14% in the S line and 61.46% in the C line. Embryo viability was not impaired by this selection. The largest increase in fertility rate per day after a single AI was observed from d5 to d11. In G12, the fertility rate in the selected line was 91% at d2, 94% at d3, 92% at days 3 and 4 then decreased to 81% at d8, 75% at d9, 58% at d10 and 42% at d11. In contrast, the fertility rate in the control line showed an abrupt decrease from d4 (74%). The same tendencies were observed for the evolution of hatchability according to the egg set rates. It was concluded that selection for the number of fertile eggs after a single AI with pooled Muscovy semen could effectively increase the duration of the fertile period in ducks and that research should now be focused on ways to improve the viability of the hybrid mule duck embryo.

Electronic literature searches of the PubMed, EmBase, and Medline databases were performed up to October 31, 2011. Fixed-effects or random-effects models were used to calculate the pooled odds ratios (ORs) for two genetic comparisons (heterozygous mutation vs. wild type, homozygous mutation vs. wild type). RESULTS A total of 18 studies were ultimately identified. The pooled results revealed no statistical association between infant and maternal C677T and A1298C variants and risk of cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P) or cleft palate only (CPO), except for the maternal 677TT genotype for CL/P, the OR was 1.32 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.63) as compared to the normal 677CC genotype. In the subgroup analyses on CL/P data based on ethnicity and source of control subjects, almost all of the results were replicated as nonsignificant associations in both examined polymorphisms, whereas the pooled risk estimate calculated for maternal 677TT genotype in the white population remained statistically significant, with an OR of 1.36 (95% CI, 1.05-1.76). CONCLUSIONS This meta-analysis suggests that maternal MTHFR 677TT genotype might increase the risk of having a CL/P offspring in the white population. However, these findings remain to be confirmed by additional investigations.

Obesity can augment insulin resistance (IR), leading to increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. Leptin, ghrelin, and various fatty acids present in the cell membrane may modulate IR. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of weight loss on IR, serum leptin/ghrelin levels, and erythrocyte fatty acids, and studied the associations between changes in these variables. A total of 35 obese (body mass index ≥ 27) adults participated in a weight loss program for 3 months. IR was assessed using homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). The obese participants had a mean weight loss of 5.6 ± 3.8 kg followed by a 16.7% and 23.3% reduction in HOMA-IR and leptin (p < 0.001) levels, and an 11.3% increase in ghrelin levels (p = 0.005). The level of erythrocyte saturates decreased by 2.8%, while the level of n-3 polyunsaturates increased by 16.8% (all p < 0.05). The changes in leptin levels (-5.63 vs. -1.57 ng/mL) were significantly different (p = 0.004) in those with improved IR (changes in HOMA-IR < 0) than those without improvement (changes in HOMA-IR ≥ 0), though there were no differences in the changes of ghrelin (p = 0.120) and erythrocyte fatty acids (all p > 0.05) levels. After adjusting for age, gender, changes in ghrelin, and body fat, we found a significant correlation between decreases in leptin and less risk of no improvement in HOMA-IR levels [odds ratio (OR) = 0.69, p = 0.039]. In conclusion, a moderate weight reduction in obese participants over a short period significantly improved IR. This weight reduction concomitantly decreased serum leptin, increased ghrelin, and elevated some erythrocyte unsaturates. Only leptin correlated independently with IR improvement upon multivariable logistic regression analysis, which indicates that leptin may play a role in the modulation of IR following weight loss.

Aim. We aimed to perform a meta-analysis to determine whether antibiotic prophylaxis reduces the incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) after urodynamic studies (UDS). Methods. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid, Elsevier, ClinicalKey, Embase, Cochrane Library, Medline, and Wiley Online Library. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics with placebo or no treatment in preventing UTI after UDS were included. Two reviewers extracted data independently, and RevMan 5.3 software was used to analyze relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed by the Q test and I 2 test. Results. The final meta-analysis included 1829 patients in 13 RCTs. Compared with the placebo or no treatment group, prophylactic antibiotics could significantly reduce the risk of bacteriuria ( RR = 0.42 , 95% CI: 0.30-0.60) and the risk of symptomatic UTI ( RR = 0.65 , 95% CI: 0.48-0.88). In addition, there was no statistically significant difference in the risk of adverse events ( RR = 4.93 , 95% CI: 0.61-40.05). No significant heterogeneity or publication bias was found in this study. Conclusions. Current evidence showed that prophylactic antibiotics could reduce the risk of asymptomatic bacteriuria and symptomatic UTI after UDS without increasing the incidence of adverse events.