Jasmine Fusi | Università degli Studi di Milano - State University of Milan (Italy) (original) (raw)

Papers by Jasmine Fusi

Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, 2021

Simple Summary The high perinatal mortality rates in dogs are partly attributable to stress at pa... more Simple Summary The high perinatal mortality rates in dogs are partly attributable to stress at parturition, with the production of cortisol (C), and related to the type of delivery, that is elective or emergency cesarean sections (ELCS and EMCS). Nitric oxide metabolites (NOs) are also related to the type of parturition (ELCS or EMCS), because of the different emotional and physical stresses experienced by the bitch in these two scenarios. The study aimed to assess the concentrations of C and NOs in the amniotic fluid of puppies delivered by ELCS or EMCS. In the amniotic fluid of the 32 puppies delivered by ELCS, C, and NOs concentrations were significantly lower than those found in the amniotic fluid of the 22 puppies delivered by EMCS. Lower C concentrations were found at increasing newborn viability assessed by Apgar score. Higher amniotic NOs concentrations were associated to increasing mother’s parity, puppies’ birthweight, and time of labor within the EMCS group. Due to the po...

International Journal of Health, Animal science and Food safety, 2018

Introduction The current 30% of canine perinatal mortality (Tonnessen et al., 2012) claims the ne... more Introduction The current 30% of canine perinatal mortality (Tonnessen et al., 2012) claims the need to deepen the knowledge about this phase, characterized by long-term hormonal and metabolic changes, that could benefit of long time-frame methods of investigation, reducing the quantity of samplings and respecting animal welfare (Veronesi et al., 2015). Therefore, blood, saliva, urine and feces, being invasive and providing punctual information, are not appropriate matrices. Given that sexual steroid hormones were reported to have an influence already from the perinatal period (Frey et al., 2017), in this work 17-β-Estradiol (E2) and Testosterone (T) concentrations were assessed from the claws of dogs up to 60 days of age. Material and Methods Ten male and 10 female puppies, viable and healthy, born by elective cesarean section, were enrolled. Samplings were performed by trimming claws at birth, and the regrowth at 30 and 60 days of age. Then, E2 and T concentrations were analyzed by...

International Journal of Health, Animal science and Food safety, 2017

The full knowledge of the normal fetal fluids composition could be useful in the dog for the bett... more The full knowledge of the normal fetal fluids composition could be useful in the dog for the better management of newborns. The aim of the present study was to define the biochemical composition of amniotic fluid of puppies born by elective Caesarean section (CS) at term of pregnancy. The study enrolled 24 purebred bitches, classified into small size ( 20kg). All the bitches were healthy and clinically monitored from mating until parturition. For all the bitches an elective CS at term of pregnancy was performed [1]. For each puppy, the amniotic fluid was collected, immediately centrifuged and frozen at – 20° C until analysis for ALB, AMY, TB, CHOL, CK, ALP, GGT, AST, ALT, LDH, Mg, Ca, K, Na, Trig, BUN, Glc, TP, CREA, LIP, Cl, and GLOB. Data were analyzed by ANCOVA to verify the possible effects of parity, breed body size and newborn gender on amniotic biochemical composition. A total of 69 amniotic fluid samples were collected. The amniotic mean±SD and min-max values for each parame...

Similarly to all other species, also in the dog improvements in the knowledge on perinatology are... more Similarly to all other species, also in the dog improvements in the knowledge on perinatology are mandatory for a better management of newborns, mainly aimed to reduce the impact of perinatal mortality. However, until recently, the study of canine perinatology was limited mainly because of the invasiveness of many investigation procedures, such as repeated blood sampling. In recent times, the claws/nails were proved to be a useful, non invasive, matrix for long time-frame retrospective hormone concentrations analysis also in babies and puppies [1,2], providing a suitable matrix for perinatal long-term hormonal changes studies. The last intrauterine foetal stage of development and the neonatal period represent the most challenging phases for the mammals offspring. It was demonstrated that the activation of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis leads to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) secretion, the major fetal steroids. Thus, DHEA-S measured at b...

Heliyon, 2020

Mules (Equus mulus) are interspecific hybrids derived from crossing horse (Equus caballus) mares ... more Mules (Equus mulus) are interspecific hybrids derived from crossing horse (Equus caballus) mares with jackasses (Equus asinus). In Italy, the production of mules is very important for the special environmental areas, where they are used as working animals, instead of the forbidden agricultural machines. Although many horse mares carry mule pregnancy successfully at term, low fertility of mares used for producing mules was reported, but limited data about reproductive efficiency in mares carrying mule pregnancy, especially when age and reproductive status are concerned, are available. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effect of age and of reproductive status on some reproductive indices of horse mares carrying mule pregnancy, in the final purpose to better clarify factors affecting reproductive performances in the valuable production of mules as working animals under special environmental areas in Italy. The study, performed on 96 draft mares inseminated with Martina F...

Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, 2021

Simple Summary Canine pregnancy and post-partum (total duration around 120 days) is a very intens... more Simple Summary Canine pregnancy and post-partum (total duration around 120 days) is a very intense period and could be a trigger for the activation of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA) axis in female dogs, given the higher allostatic load. To evaluate this activation, the concentrations of Cortisol (C) and Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), final products of the HPA axis, were detected in the coat and claws of 15 Dobermann Pinscher female dogs, with monthly collections from mating until the end of weaning. The C concentrations, both in the coat and claws, showed a significant trend of increase from mating until 60 days post-partum. In both matrices, the DHEA-S changes were not significant. Maternal parity and litter size did not play a significant influence on the concentrations of C and DHEA-S in both matrices. The results of the present study seem to depict maternity as a main activator of the HPA axis that, in turn, leads to the secretion of C. This is probably due t...

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica

To assess the effects of dry period (DP) length on metabolic, reproductive, and productive parame... more To assess the effects of dry period (DP) length on metabolic, reproductive, and productive parameters, second- (SP) and third- (TP) parity cows were assigned to a traditional (9 weeks, T) or short (5 weeks, S) DP, obtaining four subgroups: second-parity cows with traditional (SPT = 8) and short (SPS = 8) DP, third-parity cows with traditional (TPT = 8) and short (TPS = 10) DP. Plasma insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels were assessed from 5 weeks before to 14 weeks after parturition. IGF-I concentrations were affected by parity (P < 0.05) and by the interaction of time and DP length (P < 0.01). NEFA levels were affected only by time (P < 0.01). S DP cows showed a shorter interval between calving and ovarian cyclicity resumption (P < 0.01) and a higher milk yield (P < 0.01) and fat and protein corrected milk (P < 0.01) compared with T DP cows. Decreased milk protein content was found in the SPS group compared to the SPT (P...

Medycyna Weterynaryjna

The Teramana goat is an at-risk breed, needing population protection and programs to increase the... more The Teramana goat is an at-risk breed, needing population protection and programs to increase their numbers. The first step for a population increase is the best management of reproduction, leading to an as high as possible number of healthy and viable kids born. To this purpose, beside the optimization of mating, the best possible management of pregnancy and parturition is mandatory. The goat is a prolific farm animal in which single, double, or triple ovulations can occur, leading to singleton, twin or triple pregnancies, and the birth of multiple kids. Twins and triplets are associated to increased risk for perinatal mortality and need a special surveillance and possible assistance at birth. Knowledge of the number of fetuses that have to be delivered from each goat could be a practical tool for a better management of parturition. Among the methods to define the number of fetuses in the goat, the measurement of blood progesterone (P4) concentrations have provided inconsistent res...

Animals

This study investigated the postpartum (PP) uterine involution in nine multiparous Martina Franca... more This study investigated the postpartum (PP) uterine involution in nine multiparous Martina Franca jennies with at term, normal, and singleton foaling. Transrectal ultrasonography performed at Days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 showed that the uterine tip diameters did not differ between the post-pregnant (PPH) and non-post-pregnant uterine horns (NPPH), whereas the diameter of the middle PPH was larger than the NPPH until Day 7 (p < 0.05). The diameter of the corpora-cornual junction resulted larger in the PPH than NPPH at Day 7 (p < 0.05). At Day 3, the microcaruncolae were not detected. Endometrial glands (GL) number increased, with the highest value on Day 28. Endometrial GL area and perimeter decreased (p < 0.001) from Day 1 to Day 28. Epithelial thickness increased from Days 1–3 to Day 7 (p < 0.001), and concurrently with the foal heat to Day 14 (p < 0.001), with a decrease at Days 21–28. A marked neutrophils reduction on Day 7 and eosinophil increase from the first th...

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

Background: In the dog, the correct management of parturition and the prompt neonatal evaluation ... more Background: In the dog, the correct management of parturition and the prompt neonatal evaluation and assistance can reduce the perinatal mortality rates that are particularly high in toy breeds. Newborn evaluation and factors addressing prognosis are pivotal to guarantee the correct neonatal assistance. Assessment of the Apgar score with viability classification and birthweight are recognized as predictors for neonatal survival in dogs, but breed-specific data are needed for a more feasible application in the dog species, in which wide differences among breeds are known. The present study aimed therefore to: (a) assess the role of Apgar score and birthweight as predictors for the survival of Chihuahua newborn puppies in the first 24 h of life; (b) to assess a cut-off of the Apgar score and birthweight values that can predict the survival of Chihuahua newborn puppies in the first 24 h after birth; (c) to assess the possible effect played by maternal parity, newborn gender and litter-size on Apgar score in Chihuahua newborn puppies, in order to provide breed-specific data for a better neonatal assistance.

Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, 2021

Simple Summary The high perinatal mortality rates in dogs are partly attributable to stress at pa... more Simple Summary The high perinatal mortality rates in dogs are partly attributable to stress at parturition, with the production of cortisol (C), and related to the type of delivery, that is elective or emergency cesarean sections (ELCS and EMCS). Nitric oxide metabolites (NOs) are also related to the type of parturition (ELCS or EMCS), because of the different emotional and physical stresses experienced by the bitch in these two scenarios. The study aimed to assess the concentrations of C and NOs in the amniotic fluid of puppies delivered by ELCS or EMCS. In the amniotic fluid of the 32 puppies delivered by ELCS, C, and NOs concentrations were significantly lower than those found in the amniotic fluid of the 22 puppies delivered by EMCS. Lower C concentrations were found at increasing newborn viability assessed by Apgar score. Higher amniotic NOs concentrations were associated to increasing mother’s parity, puppies’ birthweight, and time of labor within the EMCS group. Due to the po...

International Journal of Health, Animal science and Food safety, 2018

Introduction The current 30% of canine perinatal mortality (Tonnessen et al., 2012) claims the ne... more Introduction The current 30% of canine perinatal mortality (Tonnessen et al., 2012) claims the need to deepen the knowledge about this phase, characterized by long-term hormonal and metabolic changes, that could benefit of long time-frame methods of investigation, reducing the quantity of samplings and respecting animal welfare (Veronesi et al., 2015). Therefore, blood, saliva, urine and feces, being invasive and providing punctual information, are not appropriate matrices. Given that sexual steroid hormones were reported to have an influence already from the perinatal period (Frey et al., 2017), in this work 17-β-Estradiol (E2) and Testosterone (T) concentrations were assessed from the claws of dogs up to 60 days of age. Material and Methods Ten male and 10 female puppies, viable and healthy, born by elective cesarean section, were enrolled. Samplings were performed by trimming claws at birth, and the regrowth at 30 and 60 days of age. Then, E2 and T concentrations were analyzed by...

International Journal of Health, Animal science and Food safety, 2017

The full knowledge of the normal fetal fluids composition could be useful in the dog for the bett... more The full knowledge of the normal fetal fluids composition could be useful in the dog for the better management of newborns. The aim of the present study was to define the biochemical composition of amniotic fluid of puppies born by elective Caesarean section (CS) at term of pregnancy. The study enrolled 24 purebred bitches, classified into small size ( 20kg). All the bitches were healthy and clinically monitored from mating until parturition. For all the bitches an elective CS at term of pregnancy was performed [1]. For each puppy, the amniotic fluid was collected, immediately centrifuged and frozen at – 20° C until analysis for ALB, AMY, TB, CHOL, CK, ALP, GGT, AST, ALT, LDH, Mg, Ca, K, Na, Trig, BUN, Glc, TP, CREA, LIP, Cl, and GLOB. Data were analyzed by ANCOVA to verify the possible effects of parity, breed body size and newborn gender on amniotic biochemical composition. A total of 69 amniotic fluid samples were collected. The amniotic mean±SD and min-max values for each parame...

Similarly to all other species, also in the dog improvements in the knowledge on perinatology are... more Similarly to all other species, also in the dog improvements in the knowledge on perinatology are mandatory for a better management of newborns, mainly aimed to reduce the impact of perinatal mortality. However, until recently, the study of canine perinatology was limited mainly because of the invasiveness of many investigation procedures, such as repeated blood sampling. In recent times, the claws/nails were proved to be a useful, non invasive, matrix for long time-frame retrospective hormone concentrations analysis also in babies and puppies [1,2], providing a suitable matrix for perinatal long-term hormonal changes studies. The last intrauterine foetal stage of development and the neonatal period represent the most challenging phases for the mammals offspring. It was demonstrated that the activation of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis leads to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEA-S) secretion, the major fetal steroids. Thus, DHEA-S measured at b...

Heliyon, 2020

Mules (Equus mulus) are interspecific hybrids derived from crossing horse (Equus caballus) mares ... more Mules (Equus mulus) are interspecific hybrids derived from crossing horse (Equus caballus) mares with jackasses (Equus asinus). In Italy, the production of mules is very important for the special environmental areas, where they are used as working animals, instead of the forbidden agricultural machines. Although many horse mares carry mule pregnancy successfully at term, low fertility of mares used for producing mules was reported, but limited data about reproductive efficiency in mares carrying mule pregnancy, especially when age and reproductive status are concerned, are available. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effect of age and of reproductive status on some reproductive indices of horse mares carrying mule pregnancy, in the final purpose to better clarify factors affecting reproductive performances in the valuable production of mules as working animals under special environmental areas in Italy. The study, performed on 96 draft mares inseminated with Martina F...

Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, 2021

Simple Summary Canine pregnancy and post-partum (total duration around 120 days) is a very intens... more Simple Summary Canine pregnancy and post-partum (total duration around 120 days) is a very intense period and could be a trigger for the activation of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA) axis in female dogs, given the higher allostatic load. To evaluate this activation, the concentrations of Cortisol (C) and Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), final products of the HPA axis, were detected in the coat and claws of 15 Dobermann Pinscher female dogs, with monthly collections from mating until the end of weaning. The C concentrations, both in the coat and claws, showed a significant trend of increase from mating until 60 days post-partum. In both matrices, the DHEA-S changes were not significant. Maternal parity and litter size did not play a significant influence on the concentrations of C and DHEA-S in both matrices. The results of the present study seem to depict maternity as a main activator of the HPA axis that, in turn, leads to the secretion of C. This is probably due t...

Acta Veterinaria Hungarica

To assess the effects of dry period (DP) length on metabolic, reproductive, and productive parame... more To assess the effects of dry period (DP) length on metabolic, reproductive, and productive parameters, second- (SP) and third- (TP) parity cows were assigned to a traditional (9 weeks, T) or short (5 weeks, S) DP, obtaining four subgroups: second-parity cows with traditional (SPT = 8) and short (SPS = 8) DP, third-parity cows with traditional (TPT = 8) and short (TPS = 10) DP. Plasma insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels were assessed from 5 weeks before to 14 weeks after parturition. IGF-I concentrations were affected by parity (P < 0.05) and by the interaction of time and DP length (P < 0.01). NEFA levels were affected only by time (P < 0.01). S DP cows showed a shorter interval between calving and ovarian cyclicity resumption (P < 0.01) and a higher milk yield (P < 0.01) and fat and protein corrected milk (P < 0.01) compared with T DP cows. Decreased milk protein content was found in the SPS group compared to the SPT (P...

Medycyna Weterynaryjna

The Teramana goat is an at-risk breed, needing population protection and programs to increase the... more The Teramana goat is an at-risk breed, needing population protection and programs to increase their numbers. The first step for a population increase is the best management of reproduction, leading to an as high as possible number of healthy and viable kids born. To this purpose, beside the optimization of mating, the best possible management of pregnancy and parturition is mandatory. The goat is a prolific farm animal in which single, double, or triple ovulations can occur, leading to singleton, twin or triple pregnancies, and the birth of multiple kids. Twins and triplets are associated to increased risk for perinatal mortality and need a special surveillance and possible assistance at birth. Knowledge of the number of fetuses that have to be delivered from each goat could be a practical tool for a better management of parturition. Among the methods to define the number of fetuses in the goat, the measurement of blood progesterone (P4) concentrations have provided inconsistent res...

Animals

This study investigated the postpartum (PP) uterine involution in nine multiparous Martina Franca... more This study investigated the postpartum (PP) uterine involution in nine multiparous Martina Franca jennies with at term, normal, and singleton foaling. Transrectal ultrasonography performed at Days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 showed that the uterine tip diameters did not differ between the post-pregnant (PPH) and non-post-pregnant uterine horns (NPPH), whereas the diameter of the middle PPH was larger than the NPPH until Day 7 (p < 0.05). The diameter of the corpora-cornual junction resulted larger in the PPH than NPPH at Day 7 (p < 0.05). At Day 3, the microcaruncolae were not detected. Endometrial glands (GL) number increased, with the highest value on Day 28. Endometrial GL area and perimeter decreased (p < 0.001) from Day 1 to Day 28. Epithelial thickness increased from Days 1–3 to Day 7 (p < 0.001), and concurrently with the foal heat to Day 14 (p < 0.001), with a decrease at Days 21–28. A marked neutrophils reduction on Day 7 and eosinophil increase from the first th...

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

Background: In the dog, the correct management of parturition and the prompt neonatal evaluation ... more Background: In the dog, the correct management of parturition and the prompt neonatal evaluation and assistance can reduce the perinatal mortality rates that are particularly high in toy breeds. Newborn evaluation and factors addressing prognosis are pivotal to guarantee the correct neonatal assistance. Assessment of the Apgar score with viability classification and birthweight are recognized as predictors for neonatal survival in dogs, but breed-specific data are needed for a more feasible application in the dog species, in which wide differences among breeds are known. The present study aimed therefore to: (a) assess the role of Apgar score and birthweight as predictors for the survival of Chihuahua newborn puppies in the first 24 h of life; (b) to assess a cut-off of the Apgar score and birthweight values that can predict the survival of Chihuahua newborn puppies in the first 24 h after birth; (c) to assess the possible effect played by maternal parity, newborn gender and litter-size on Apgar score in Chihuahua newborn puppies, in order to provide breed-specific data for a better neonatal assistance.