1,721,030 research outputs found
Effect of sperm concentration on characteristics of frozen-thawed semen in donkeys
No full textIn this study, the effect of donkey sperm concentration in the straw during cryopreservationon the quality of thawed semen was evaluated. Samples from seven adult Martina Francajackasses were collected three times using a Missouri artificial vagina. After estimation ofvolume and concentration, raw semen was evaluated for motility using a computer-assistedsperm analyzer (CASA); viability and acrosome integrity were also determined. Fresh semenwas then centrifuged and re-suspended at five different concentrations (100, 250, 500,750, and 1000×106 sperm/ml) with a commercial extender, packaged in 0.5 ml straws, andfrozen. After thawing, motility parameters, viability, and acrosome integrity were analyzed.The analysis of the data showed similar parameters of fresh semen compared with those ofcentrifuged and cooled samples. The sperm concentration in the straw affected the semenparameters analyzed after thawing, as suggested by evidence that when the concentrationincreased, the quality of the post-thawed semen decreased. Furthermore, the differencesin total and progressive motility among samples at different concentrations are due to theimmobilization of spermatozoa, as suggested by the finding that the percentage of staticspermatozoa increased when the concentration increased. The reason for the impairmentof semen quality when the sperm concentration increased was discussed. A great variabilityin cryo-resistance was found between jackasses but not within the same male, suggestingthe presence of donkey males with semen that has acceptable and unacceptable freezingqualities.[...
Effectiveness of a modified administration protocol for the medical treatment of canine pyometra
No full textPyometra is one of the most common diseases in intact bitches. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a modified aglepristone protocol for the medical treatment of pyometra in the bitch. Of these, 73 bitches affected by pyometra of different breeds and age (2–14 years old) were enrolled. They were randomly assigned to a control group (CTG - 26 bitches) treated with classical protocol (aglepristone at 0, 1 and 6 days - day 0 = day of the diagnosis) and a modified treated group (MTG - 47 bitches) treated with a different administration protocol (aglepristone at 0, 2, 5 and 8 days). The classical protocol with the anti-progestagen aglepristone was effective in 88.5 % (23/26) of CTG bitches while the modified protocol was effective in all (47/47) of MTG bitches. One of the 23 CTG bitches received a further administration on day 14, which resolved the pyometra, while in the three cases of CTG bitches, in which the treatment was ineffective, an ovariohysterectomy was carried out. The modified protocol showed a success rate of 100 %, compared with the classical protocol proposed in the literature, and no recurrence of the disease was recorded in the 24 months follow up. After treatment, the oestrus onset was earlier than expected (interoestrus of 128 ± 32 days). In this study, the modified treatment protocol showed high efficacy and lack of recurrence within 24 months, suggesting a complete recovery of reproductive function in the bitch, with a normal fertility
Venous blood gas parameters in healthy Mediterranean buffalo calves in the first 72 hours of life
No full textFusion as the result of sperm-somatic cell interaction
No full textThe research has been designed to investigate whether acrosome-reacted spermatozoa can fuse with somatic cells and to check whether this event may involve the molecular machinery implicated in the sperm-egg fusion. Boar spermatozoa were capacitated in vitro and then treated with A23187 to induce acrosome reaction and activate their fusogenic potential. Reacted spermatozoa, loaded with the membrane-permeant fluorescent dye calcein AM, were incubated with plated granulosa cells or cells derived from stable cell lines: CRFK, VERO, and ESK4. The fusion between spermatozoa and somatic cells was revealed by the diffusion of the fluorescent dye from the sperm to the cell as membrane fusion and cytoplasmic continuity between the two cells were established. The involvement of integrin alpha 6 and tetraspanin CD9 in the process of fusion was assessed by carrying out the experiment in the presence of antibodies against these molecules. Moreover, the incidence of fusion displayed by the different cell types used was analyzed in relation to their content in the above molecules assessed by western blot and immunostaining. The role of CD9 was additionally investigated by using CD9-negative cells. The data presented demonstrate that boar spermatozoa can fuse with different somatic cell types derived from different species and the process requires the combined presence of both integrin and tetraspanin molecules on the cell plasma membrane.[...
Successful use of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog for the treatment of tertiary hypogonadism (GnRH deficiency) in a 5-year-old Belgian Blue bull
No full textA bull was referred for a progressive oligoasthenotheratozoospermia that resulted in a unsuitable seminal quality for the cryopreservation. Breeding soundness evaluation results suggested gonadal dysfunction. Because of the lack of normal ranges for these hormones in the bull, in this study, the hypogonadism and the site of the dysfunction (hypothalamus) were diagnosed by the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test. The evaluation of pituitary and testicular responsiveness by a GnRH stimulating test revealed a responsiveness of the pituitary and testis, thus a secondary hypogonadism (hypothalamic hypogonadism) was postulated and a therapeutic approach based on the subcutaneous administration of GnRH analog was attempted. An increase in semen volume, concentration and sperm characteristics were detected 9 weeks after the start of the treatment, corroborating the hypothalamic origin of the disease and the useful of the GnRH therapy.[...
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
STUDY OF BULL SPERM CHARACTERISTICS IN EXTENDER WITH DIFFERENT ANTIBIOTICS
No full textABSTRACT - Economy of dairy farming largely depends on pregnancy rate afterinsemination. Artificial insemination (AI) is the most widely used biotechnology forgenetic improvement through banks of frozen spermatozoa in bull. Thus the quality ofinseminant dose is crucial in bovine reproduction.In this study the semen was collected from 13 bulls on which the total microbial chargewas determined. Semen was diluted with an extender additioned with differentantimicrobial mixes and frozen. Sperm quality and total microbial charge weredetermined after equilibration and after cryopreservation. Results showed that bullsemen is contaminated with bacteria, with a charge variable between 180 to 13000CFU/ml. Bacterial contamination seemed to increase the proportion of spermatozoawith acrosome reaction, by a possible interaction of some bacterial product with thesperm acrosome membrane. The different mixes of antibiotics seemed did not affectedthe sperm quality, while the commercial antibiotic extender failed to protected semenfrom bacterial growth in 2 cases.[...
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