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Background: Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction is the leading cause of pediatric hydronephrosis. While open pyeloplasty is highly effective, a small proportion of children experience recurrent ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) necessitating repeat intervention. We aimed to identify potential risk factors for pyeloplasty failure. Methods: We prospectively followed 126 children undergoing open Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty between 2019 and 2021. Demographic, clinical, anatomical, procedural, and postoperative variables were recorded. Patients were monitored for recurrence, defined as worsening hydronephrosis and/or symptoms with diuretic renogram confirmation. Univariate and multivariate analysis identified factors associated with recurrence. Results: Median age at pyeloplasty was 17 months, left side was affected in 58% and 73.8% were male. At mean 28.8 months follow-up, UPJO recurred in 9 patients (7%). The only factor significantly associated with recurrence was prolonged postoperative urinary drain leakage, specifically recurrence occurred in 50% (3/6) of cases with prolonged leakage versus 5% (6/120) without (p = 0.005). Conclusions: Open pediatric pyeloplasty has a high success rate, yet a minority of patients will experience recurrence necessitating re-intervention. Prolonged urine leakage was the sole predictor of failed repair in our cohort, likely due to inflammation and perianastomotic scarring. Meticulous surgical technique and prompt leak management are vital to optimize pyeloplasty outcomes. Children at higher risk warrant close monitoring to enable early detection and renal salvage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The gut microbiota has provided valuable insights into understanding an animal's adaptation to its environment. Additionally, it has a significant effect on the animal's performance. Comprehending the composition of the microbiota and its interaction with its host is essential for formulating knowledge-based strategies aimed at improving animal adaptability and productivity. This study aimed to investigate the diversity of the microbiota of local Egyptian cattle in three different ecosystems to gain insights into the potentiality of the adaptation of local Egyptian cattle's microbiota. The results suggest an adaptive response of the animals to their respective/specific environments, with a clear effect of both heat stress and feed type. These findings could be useful in enhancing animal adaptations and productivity. The animal gastrointestinal tract contains a complex microbiome whose composition ultimately reflects the co-evolution of microorganisms with their animal host and their host's environment. This study aimed to gain insights into the adaptation of the microbiota of local Egyptian cattle to three different ecosystems (Upper Egypt, Middle Egypt, and Lower Egypt) distributed across 11 governorates (with an average of 12 animals per governorate) using amplicon sequencing. We analyzed the microbiota from 136 fecal samples of local Egyptian cattle through a 16S rRNA gene sequencing approach to better understand the fecal microbial diversity of this breed which developed under different ecosystems. An alpha diversity analysis showed that the fecal microbiota of the Egyptian cattle was not significantly diverse across areas, seasons, sexes, or farm types. Meanwhile, microbiota data revealed significant differences in richness among age groups (p = 0.0018). The microbial community differed significantly in the distribution of its relative abundance rather than in richness across different ecosystems. The taxonomic analysis of the reads identified Firmicutes and Actinobacteriota as the dominant phyla, accounting for over 93% of the total bacterial community in Egyptian cattle. Middle Egypt exhibited a different microbial community composition compared to Upper and Lower Egypt, with a significantly higher abundance of Firmicutes and Euryarchaeota and a lower abundance of Actinobacteriota in this region than the other two ecosystems. Additionally, Middle Egypt had a significantly higher relative abundance of the Methanobacteriaceae family and the Methanobrevibacter genera than Lower and Upper Egypt. These results suggest a difference in the adaptation of the fecal microbial communities of Egyptian cattle raised in Middle Egypt. At the genus level, eleven genera were significantly different among the three ecosystems including Bacillus, DNF00809, Kandleria, Lachnospiraceae_NK3A20_group, Methanobrevibacter, Mogibacterium, Olsenella, Paeniclostridium, Romboutsia, Turicibacter, and UCG-005. These significant differences in microbiota composition may impact the animal's adaptation to varied environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was implemented to evaluate utilizing sexed semen that favors female births for enhancing milk production and herd replacements. 4913 calf records from 1047 Friesian cows between 1975 and 2020 at Sakha Farm were analyzed to estimate the impacts of calf gender and some environmental factors on the productive traits: lactation period (LP), total (TMY) and 305-day (305MY) milk yields and reproductive traits: age at first calving (AFC); gestation length (GL); days open (DO) and calving interval (CI). Fixed effects were parity; calving year and season (SC). Genetic (rg) and phenotypic (rp) correlations were estimated using BLUPF90 software. Results showed highly significant effects (P<0.001) of the fixed factors on all studied traits, except SC (P< 0.05) on LP and TMY, (P< 0.01) on 305MY and DO, but non-significant effects on reproductive traits. Calf gender presented strongly meaningful effects (P<0.001) regarding CI plus (P<0.05) for other traits, except AFC and genders on DO. Moderate positive rg estimates were found from 0.29 to 0.32 for female births with productive traits; weak values were found with reproductive traits, except 0.14 with GL. The corresponding rp estimates ranged from 0.26 to 0.36 with productive traits; from 0.11 to 0.19 with reproductive traits, except for weak values with DO and CI. It can be strongly encouraged to alter calf gender in females to diminish the generation interval, maximize milk production, and increase the genetic superiority of replacements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]