Search results for "Food Animal"
showing 10 items of 72 documents
Oral administration of pharmacological doses of Vitamins C and E reduces reproductive fitness and impairs the ovarian and uterine functions of female…
2002
This study aims to ascertain whether oral administration of pharmacological doses of Vitamins C and E has any detrimental effect on reproductive fitness of female mice. We fed hybrid female mice from the first day of weaning a standard diet supplemented or not supplemented with pharmacological doses of Vitamins C and E. At the age of 28 weeks, we individually caged females with a male for the rest of their reproductive life. We performed a series of mating experiments to ascertain the number of oocytes ovulated and the potential for embryo development in vitro to the blastocyst stage and in vivo to Day 12 of gestation. The antioxidant diet decreased the frequency of litters, litter size, to…
Direct transfer of vitrified rabbit embryos.
1994
In this study we looked at the feasibility of transferring vitrified rabbit embryos directly into recipient does. Compacted morulae were vitrified in a solution of 20% ethylene glycol and 20% dimethyl sulfoxide. After thawing, and without step-wise diluted solution, the vitrified embryos were transferred into the recipient's uterine horns. Survival rate at birth differed from fresh rabbit embryos (40% vs 55%, P0.05). However, the percentage of does that delivered (94%) and the survival rate suggested this method is suitable for both storage and simple transfer of rabbit morulae.
Grafting affects yield and phenolic profile of Solanum melongena L. landraces
2016
Abstract The influence of grafting on agronomical and qualitative characteristics of four Sicilian eggplant landraces was investigated. Grafted and ungrafted plants were compared in the open field in the northern coast of Sicily. Solanum torvum seedlings were used as rootstock. Regardless of genotypes tested, grafting significantly increased total fruit production, marketable production, and number of marketable fruits, but did not affect weight of marketable fruits and waste production. Landrace 2 (Sciacca), with black epidermal tissue and pyriform fruit shape, when grafted onto S. torvum not only gave a higher yield performance than ungrafted plants, but also showed a higher phenolic anti…
Computer assisted morphometric analysis of ram sperm heads: Evaluation of different fixative techniques
1998
The recent development of automated systems for morphometric sperm head analysis has provided a series of objective parameters which have facilitated the standardization of morphological semen evaluation. This current work attempts to establish the optimum fixing conditions for the morphometric characterization of ram spermatozoa. Ejaculates were obtained from 5 Merino rams used for periodic collection of semen and were diluted at 1:50 with TEST medium. Air-dried smears were fixed either in ethanol-ether (1:1), 50% methanol, 2% glutaraldehyde or SUZA fixative, in which case the smear was pretreated with chloramine. The samples were then stained with commercial kit Hemacolor. Once the prepar…
Hormonal and metabolic adaptation to fasting: effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarianaxis and reproductive performance of rabbit does
2006
To assess the impact of acute caloric shortage on reproduction, rabbit does were either fed ad libitum (control, AL), or fasted for 24 (STF) or 48 h (LTF) before induction of ovulation with GnRH injection. Blood samples were collected during the last 3 h of fasting, and the following 4 h after GnRH injection, when feed was provided again, to measure plasma concentrations of LH, estradiol-17β, leptin, insulin, T3, corticosterone, glucose, and NEFA. Before re-feeding, plasma leptin, insulin, and T3 concentrations were lower (P ≤ 0.01) in both fasted groups than in controls, but then gradually increased following realimentation to match those of controls. During fasting, corticoster…
Aseasonal sheep and goat milk production in the Mediterranean area: Physiological and technical insights
2015
Abstract Aseasonal or out-of-season milk production for small ruminants raised in Mediterranean areas refers generally to milk having to be produced at a time that corresponds to summer which is when conditions are generally unfavourable with respect to both physiological aspects and nutritional factors related to seasonal climatic trends. In fact, sheep and goat milk production in the Mediterranean basin is mostly based on pasture utilization and thus follows the pasture availability pattern. This causes a strong seasonal pattern to the amount of milk processed by cheese processes plants, with the peak being in the spring, a marked reduction in early summer and nil or low availability of m…
Pulchrosomapulchrosoma(Trematoda: Cathaemasiidae) in Ringed kingfishers (Megaceryletorquatatorquata) from Iquitos, Peru: with inferences on life-cycl…
2007
In the winter of 2001, four Ringed kingfishers (Megaceryle torquata torquata) were imported from Iquitos, Peru for the zoological garden Faunia in Madrid. Two individuals were necropsied, and infections by the digenean trematode Pulchrosoma pulchrosoma were discovered inside granulomas located in the lung, trachea and coelomic cavity. The life cycle of this trematode species is unknown. In one case the host maintained the parasite infection for at least 5 months, which represents a relatively long prepatency period. Moreover, the body locations in the hosts may suggest that the parasite is able to actively cross the lungs from the coelomic cavity to propagate.
Genetic diversity and population structure of Sicilian sheep breeds using microsatellite markers
2012
Abstract Genetic diversity studies in domestic animals aim at evaluating genetic variation within and across breeds mainly for conservation purposes. In Sicily, dairy sheep production represents an important resource for hilly and mountain areas economy. Their milk is used for the production of traditional raw milk cheeses, sometimes protected designation of origin (PDO) cheeses. In some cases, the quality of these products is linked to a specific breed, i.e. mono-breed labelled cheeses and it is therefore important to be able to distinguish the milk of a breed from that of others, in order to guarantee both the consumer and the breed itself. In order to investigate the genetic structure an…
Combined effects of type and depth of counting chamber, and rateof image frame capture, on bull sperm motility and kinematics
2019
Semen quality assessment requires accurate, reliable and objective methods for examination of sperm variables including sperm motility. For preparation of semen samples for artificial insemination, as a genetic resource, samples that are used for insemination need to have the capacity to result in a highly acceptable fertility rate. Several methods have been developed for evaluation of bull sperm in laboratory conditions and for preparation of doses for artificial insemination. Computer-assisted semen analyses can provide objective information on various sperm variables. Nevertheless, this equipment requires fine-calibrations considering differences among species, breeds and conditions for …
Economic values for production and functional traits in Valle del Belice dairy sheep using profit functions
2011
Abstract A deterministic static model was used to estimate the economic values (EV) of production (MY, milk yield; BW, birth weight; and ADG, average daily gain) and functional traits (ASR, adult survival rate; LSR, lamb survival rate; FE, fertility; PR, prolificacy; and LW ewe , mature weight of ewe) in Valle del Belice dairy sheep. In this study, values for the biological parameters and the production traits used in the model were taken from real data, by surveying 15 Valle del Belice farmers and reflected the production circumstances of pasture based dairy production systems. In this system feed cost accounted for 95% of total variable costs, whereas fixed costs were low and reflected tr…