Geometric Mean Serum Cotinine Concentrations Confirm a Continued Decline in Secondhand Smoke Exposure among U.S. Nonsmokers-NHANES 2003 to 2018.

The objective of this study was to examine long-term trends in serum cotinine (COT) concentrations, as a measure of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure, in U.S. nonsmokers using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 2003 to 2018.

Follicular Size Threshold for Ovulation Reassessed. Insights from Multiple Ovulating Dairy Cows.

In cattle, follicular deviation to dominance begins when the selected ovulatory follicle reaches a mean diameter of 8.5 mm. The dominant follicle acquires the capacity to ovulate when it reaches a diameter of about 10 mm.

Serum Concentrations of Cotinine and Trans-3'-Hydroxycotinine in US Adults: Results From Wave 1 (2013-2014) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.

Introduction: The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study is a nationally representative cohort of tobacco product users and nonusers. The study's main purpose is to obtain longitudinal epidemiologic data on tobacco use and exposure among the US population.

Aims And Methods: Nicotine biomarkers-cotinine (COT) and trans-3'-hydroxycotinine (HCT)-were measured in blood samples collected from adult daily tobacco users and nonusers during Wave 1 of the PATH Study (2013-2014; n = 5012; one sample per participant).

Cervix-rectum temperature differential at the time of insemination is correlated with the potential for pregnancy in dairy cows.

This study sought to establish whether temperature gradients between the cervix, vagina, and rectum at and 7 days post-artificial insemination (AI) were associated with the incidence of pregnancy in lactating dairy cows (Experiment I; n = 90 ovulating cows) and to evaluate temperature gradient dynamics from the time of insemination to 7 days post-AI under heat stress conditions (Experiment II; n = 16 ovulating and 4 non-ovulating cows). In Experiment I, 39 cows (43.3%) became pregnant.

PyRICo-Pilot: pyridostigmine to reduce the duration of postoperative ileus after colorectal surgery - a phase II study.

Aim: Postoperative ileus (POI) is a major problem after colorectal surgery. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as pyridostigmine increase gastrointestinal (GI) motility through a cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. The purpose of this phase II pilot study is to determine the safety of oral pyridostigmine after elective colorectal surgery.

Current practice in Australia and New Zealand for defunctioning ileostomy after rectal cancer surgery with anastomosis: Analysis of the Binational Colorectal Cancer Audit.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the use of defunctioning stomas after rectal cancer surgery in Australia and New Zealand, as current practice is unknown.

Methods: From the Binational Colorectal Cancer Audit database, data on rectal cancer patients who underwent a resection between 2007 and 2019 with the formation of an anastomosis were extracted and analysed. The primary outcome was the rate of defunctioning stoma formation.

Twin Pregnancies in Dairy Cattle: Observations in a Large Herd of Holstein-Friesian Dairy Cows.

Multiple pregnancies have devastating consequences on the herd economy of dairy cattle. This observational study examines incidence patterns based on data from the ultrasonographic examination of 1130 multiple pregnancies in cows in their third lactation or more carrying twins (98.8%), triplets (1.

Temperature gradients in the mammalian ovary and genital tract: A clinical perspective.

Temperature within mammalian reproductive tissues is noted to be a key component of fertility, and significant gradients in temperature can be demonstrated deep within the abdomen shortly before ovulation. Indeed, in the absence of such gradients in the ovary and genital tract, the processes of ovulation and fertilisation are severely compromised. This review aims to assess literature produced during the last five decades regarding temperature gradients in the mammalian ovary and genital tract.

Evolutionary sequences in mammalian reproductive biology.

Broad biological aspects and accepted evolutionary sequences may offer useful guidance towards a comprehensive explanation of the function of mammalian ovaries and oviducts and their vital contribution to the events of fertilization. Cooling of the preovulatory follicles before ovulation may well have its roots in the primitive stages of external fertilization in which aggregates of oocytes are shed into freshwater.

Minimally invasive surgery in elderly patients with rectal cancer: An analysis of the Bi-National Colorectal Cancer Audit (BCCA).

Background: Advanced age is associated with worse outcomes after open rectal cancer surgery. However, not much is known about outcomes of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in the elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate safety and efficacy of MIS in elderly rectal cancer patients using the Bi-national Colorectal Cancer Audit (BCCA) data from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Outcomes of Minimally Invasive Versus Open Proctectomy for Rectal Cancer: A Propensity-Matched Analysis of Bi-National Colorectal Cancer Audit Data.

Background: Minimally invasive surgery is commonly used in the treatment of rectal cancer, despite the lack of evidence to support oncological equivalence or improved recovery compared with open surgery.

Objective: This study aims to analyze prospectively collected data from a large Australasian colorectal cancer database.

Design: This is a retrospective cohort study using propensity score matching.

Luteal activity following follicular drainage of subordinate follicles for twin pregnancy prevention in bi-ovular dairy cows.

Twin pregnancy is undesirable in dairy cattle. This study examines luteal activity following ultrasound-guided puncture and drainage of the smaller pre-ovulatory follicle at timed AI in cows with a pre-ovulatory follicle in each ovary. Luteal activity was determined through Doppler ultrasonography and plasma progesterone (P4) concentrations.

Pre-ovulatory follicular cooling correlates positively with the potential for pregnancy in dairy cows: Implications for human IVF.

Introduction: In rabbits, pigs, cows and humans, pre-ovulatory Graafian follicles may be more than 1.0 °C cooler than ovarian stroma and both these ovarian compartments are cooler than deep rectal temperatures. This study examines the effect of follicular cooling on the incidence of pregnancy in dairy cows.

Pre-ovulatory follicular temperature in bi-ovular cows.

In a previous study on monovular cows, follicles revealed a mean antral (follicular fluid) temperature 1.54°C cooler than rectal temperatures in ovulating cows, whereas no such temperature differences were detected in non-ovulating cows. The present study adds to our previous work, this time considering 24 bi-ovular cows (one follicle per ovary).

Seminal plasma modulates the immune-cytokine network in the porcine uterine tissue and pre-ovulatory follicles.

Evidence is emerging that the interaction between male seminal fluid and female tissues promotes fertility, pregnancy, and health of offspring. This includes the acceleration of ovulation in a species known as a spontaneous ovulator, the domestic pig. Earlier studies revealed that seminal plasma acts by a local mechanism in the female pig.

Degradation of Organophosphorus and Pyrethroid Insecticides in Beverages: Implications for Risk Assessment.

Since urinary insecticide metabolites are commonly used as biomarkers of exposure, it is important that we quantify whether insecticides degrade in food and beverages in order to better perform risk assessment. This study was designed to quantify degradation of organophosphorus and pyrethroid insecticides in beverages. Purified water, white grape juice, orange juice, and red wine were fortified with 500 ng/mL diazinon, malathion, chlorpyrifos, permethrin, cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, and deltamethrin, and aliquots were extracted several times over a 15-day storage period at 2.

Whither human IVF? Fertilisable oocytes selected on the basis of follicular temperature.

Bearing in mind specific parallels between cow and human ovarian physiology, as noted in the manuscript, we have measured whether the temperature in a pre-ovulatory follicle is cooler than that in adjacent tissues. Using a novel approach not requiring anaesthetics or surgical procedures, we found that follicular fluid bathing cow oocytes shortly before ovulation is cooler than the neighbouring uterine surface and cooler than deep rectal temperature (the reference body temperature in cattle). By contrast, Graafian follicles of comparable size and ultrasonic image that do not subsequently ovulate do not have a reduced antral temperature.

Predictors of Serum Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Concentrations among Children Aged 1-5 Years.

Serum concentrations of PBDEs were measured using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in 80 children aged 15-71 months. Demographic and behavioral data were collected on parental questionnaires; a research nurse recorded anthropometric measures and insurance status. For a subset of children (n = 17), PBDEs were measured in house dust and child handwipes sampled during a home visit.

The oviductal transcriptome is influenced by a local ovarian effect in the sow.

Background: Oviducts participate in fertilization and early embryo development, and they are influenced by systemic and local circulation. Local functional interplay between ovary, oviduct and uterus is important, as deduced from the previously observed differences in hormone concentrations, presence of sperm, or patterns of motility in the oviduct after unilateral ovariectomy (UO). However, the consequences of unilateral ovariectomy on the oviductal transcriptome remain unexplored.

Quantification of Polybrominated and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Human Matrices by Isotope-Dilution Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

We have developed a highly sensitive and selective analytical method capable of quantifying a total of 15 polybrominated and polychlorinated biphenyls (11 PBBs and 4 PCBs) in human serum. Samples were subjected to liquid-liquid extraction followed by solid-phase extraction prior to measurement using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Quantification was performed using isotope-dilution calibration covering a concentration range of 0.

Production of Insecticide Degradates in Juices: Implications for Risk Assessment.

This study was designed to observe the production of degradates of two organophosphorus insecticides and one pyrethroid insecticide in beverages. Purified water, white grape juice, apple juice, and red grape juice were fortified with 500 ng/g malathion, chlorpyrifos, and permethrin, and aliquots were extracted for malathion dicarboxylic acid (MDA), 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy), and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) several times over a 15 day period of being stored in the dark at 2.5 °C.

Outstanding questions concerning sperm-epithelial binding in the mammalian oviduct.

Preovulatory binding of viable spermatozoa in the oviduct isthmus is widely accepted as a preliminary to fertilization, but details of physiological events associated with epithelial binding and release from binding are themselves little understood. Important questions include the potential number, distribution and stability of such sites in the caudal isthmus, whether multiple molecular forms of binding exist within a single-mated individual, and whether some sites are more favourable than others for the maintenance of preovulatory sperm viability. Also to be resolved is whether spermatozoa interact with the first available binding sites in the isthmus, whether spermatozoa from second or subsequent matings bind closer to the site of fertilization, and whether the first spermatozoa entering the oviduct are those that will be released first with impending ovulation.