The November 2018 Camp Fire, a devastating wildfire in Northern California, occurred during the peak of breeding season for field monkeys at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC). Effects of environmental stressors, such as wildfires, on birth outcomes in primates, and in humans, are poorly understood. Additionally, wildfires are of growing concern due to their increasing frequency and severity. The objective was to examine the impact of wildfire smoke on fertility, timing of birth, and pregnancy loss for field monkeys. A unique case-control study to investigate birth outcomes in rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) was conducted at the CNPRC. All females in the study were maintained in outdoor fields during a period of elevated ambient wildfire smoke from November 8–22, 2018. In addition to ambient air quality evaluations, the effects on fertility, timing to birth, and pregnancy loss were documented. Archival records of approximately 5,000 conceptions from the previous nine years served as control data. During the Camp Fire, ambient fine particulate (PM 2.5 ) levels exceeded the 24 -h National Ambient Air Quality Standard (35 μg/m 3) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, reaching levels as high as 185 μg/m 3. A statistically significant association was observed between birth loss and the 2018–2019 CNPRC breeding season. As this wildfire event occurred during various stages of early pregnancy, an association can be inferred between early gestational exposure and increased risk of pregnancy loss.

DESIGN: Retrospective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Frozen donor oocytes that were shipped to our clinic and warmed between 2015-2019 were compared based on the company the oocytes were received from and the clinic from which they were received. Clinical outcomes including oocyte survival, fertilization, and usable blastocyst rate (those vitrified or transferred) were compared between different donor egg banks and within the same donor egg bank's satellite locations. All warming protocols were followed according to each company's policies.RESULTS: We performed 139 donor oocyte thaw cycles from three competing egg banks, using a total of 850 frozen donor oocytes from 2015-2019. Bank ''A'' provided 121 patients with 733 oocytes, Bank ''B'' provided 8 patients with 63 oocytes, and Bank ''C'' provided 10 patients with 54 oocytes. Oocyte survival rates post-thaw differed significantly between the different banks, with 630/733 (86.0%), 35/63 (55.6%), and 50/54 (92.6%) surviving from bank ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'', respectively (P<0.0001). Fertilization rates and usable blastocyst rate did not differ between the egg banks.From bank ''A'', we compared oocyte survival, fertilization, and usable blastocyst rates between three different satellite clinics within the same egg bank company. A total of 103 donor thaw cycles, with 49 from clinic ''A'', 31 from clinic ''B'', and 23 from clinic ''C'', were performed in our lab from 2015-19. A total of 624 frozen oocytes were thawed, 299, 186, and 139 from clinic ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'', respectively. Oocyte survival post thaw were statistically different between satellite clinic ''A'' (268/299, 89.6%), clinic ''B'' (133/ 186, 71.5%), and clinic ''C'' (120/139, 86.3%; P<0.0001). Fertilization rates and usable blastocyst rate did not differ between clinics.CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that there are differences in oocyte survivability post-thaw amongst the different oocyte banking companies. More importantly, there were differences in oocyte survivability amongst the satellite locations from the same egg bank company. This suggests an impact of the embryologist vitrifying or the stimulation protocol utilized.References: None. SUPPORT: None.

The objective was to assess the impact of replacing a permanent pasture with a reseeded pasture on system productivity and product quality in the first year of establishment under commercial conditions management. Dairy cows were allocated to treatment based on pasture availability at the start of the season following standard commercial practices. Seventy autumn-calved cows grazed a high sugar grass pasture (14.1 ha reseeded in September 2015) and 55 grazed a permanent pasture (12.1 ha) from April to June 2016. Pastures snip samples were taken to assess nutritional composition every two weeks. Milk production and composition was measured on 4 th May and 10 th June. A slightly higher content of water soluble carbohydrate was observed in May on the reseeded sward (27.1 vs. 25.8%) coinciding with a higher milk yield (24.6 vs. 22.9 L d-1 per cow), lactose content (4.41 vs. 4.34%), and a lower somatic cell account (59,400 vs. 113,300 cell mL-1), compared to the permanent pasture. Pasture varied in nutritional value across the study. In June, no differences in milk production or composition were observed. However, the reseeded sward was estimated to produce 12.3% more milk per ha than the permanent pasture during the experimental period (113.8 vs. 101.3 L ha-1 d-1), driven by the greater carrying capacity of the sward (5 vs. 4.5 LU ha-1). This farm case study shows the potential of a reseeded pasture to outperform permanent pasture even in the first year of establishment at a farm system scale.

INTRODUCTION: Prior to 2016, patients undergoing gonadotoxic therapies were not routinely directed towards educational resources regarding fertility preservation options. In 2016, a formalized fertility preservation program was initiated to increase education, referrals, and provide treatment options to this uniquely vulnerable patient population. METHODS: A database was created following initiation of the fertility preservation program (FPP) to track patient demographics such as diagnosis, treatment plan, referring department, consultation turn-around time, uptake of fertility preservation services, and outcomes (post treatment and post fertility preservation, if applicable). For patients undergoing sperm/oocyte/embryo cryopreservation for fertility preservation needs prior to program initiation (2006–2015), a chart review was performed to obtain the same data. We assessed the overall impact of implementation of FPP as compared to other published data from institutions providing formal fertility preservation services. RESULTS: Each year following implementation of FPP, noted statistically significant increase in referrals, consultations, and uptake of fertility preservation services. Similarly, the referring departments and diagnoses on referral expanded beyond oncologic providers and oncologic diagnoses, respectively. We also noted a trend of increased uptake for female patients for fertility preservation as compared to male patients, which is dissimilar from previously published data. CONCLUSION: A formalized program for fertility preservation improves access and uptake of services for patients undergoing gonadotoxic therapies. Our program demonstrated significant beneficial impact on multiple parameters of interest, even within the first two years following implementation. Subsequently, fertility preservation for oncology patients is now considered a covered benefit within this health maintenance organization.

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