Conception rates in early postpartum ewes bred naturally or by intrauterine insemination

Ewes were treated with a medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) sponge for 8 d followed, at sponge removal, with 500 IU pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) at d 30, 40 or 50 (d 0 = lambing) to induce estrus. Dry and lactating ewes were divided into equal numbers at each postpartum day and bred at estrus. Conception rates and number of accessory sperm were determined by flushing the oviducts 3 d after mating and examining the recovered ova. There was no effect (P greater than .05) of lactational status on conception rates. Conception rates increased (P less than .05) from d 30 (10%) to d 40 (45%) and from d 40 to d 50 (80%). There were fewer (P less than .05) ova with accessory sperm (5/26) in d-30 ewes compared with d-40 (10/27) or d-50 (12/24) ewes. In Exp. 2, ewes were assigned to two groups after receiving PMSG on d 30: 1) mated naturally or 2) inseminated during laparotomy near the uterotubal junction (UTJ). Dry and lactating ewes were divided evenly within each of the two treatments. Oviducts were flushed and ova were examined for cleavage. The conception rate was 60% in ewes that were inseminated in the UTJ vs 10% in ewes mated to rams (P less than .05). Lactational status had no effect on results. In conclusion, conception rates in postpartum ewes treated with MAP sponge and PMSG increased from postpartum d 30 to d 50 with natural breeding, and d-30 conception rates were increased over natural mating by insemination into the uterine horn near the UTJ.     

Residential natural gas consumption: evidence that conservation efforts to date have failed

A new short-term natural gas consumption model is developed, tested against American Gas Association sales data, and applied to the question of the effectiveness of conservation efforts. The results indicate that unit residential gas-heating sales per heating degree-day have remained constant in four major gas-consuming regions during the period 1974 to 1976 and that heating sales have not been affected by the recent sharp changes in price.     

FC-17 Cutaneous papillomatosis and carcinomatosis in the highly endangered Western Barred Bandicoot

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has antineoplastic and immunostimulatory properties, and it is currently being clinically tested in anticancer therapy. In order to analyse the immunostimulatory effects of NDV on bovine papillomatosis, we inoculated 14 cows subcutaneously with an attenuated vaccine containing the LaSota strain of NDV (LS-NDV). Four cows with papillomatosis served as controls. Serum samples were collected from each animal 1 h preinoculation and 7 and 21 days postinoculation. In inoculated cows on days 7 and 21, the mean antibody titres were log₂ 2.43 ± 0.92 and 5.57 ± 0.72, respectively, by haemagglutination inhibition, and the mean levels of TNFα were 5.80 ± 4.19 and 5.39 ± 2.66 ng/mL, respectively, by WEHI-164 cytotoxicity assay. Significant differences between inoculated and control animals were evident for antibody titres on day 21 and clinical scores on day 60. A correlation was evident between the TNFα activities and clinical scores on day 21. The clinical observations at day 60 showed that the papillomas in five cows had completely resolved (36%), one animal had no alterations on clinical appearance of the tumour (7%), and papillomas in eight cows had regressed (57%). In conclusion, these results demonstrated that inoculation of LS-NDV vaccine stimulates an antibody response and a limited increase in TNFα activity and may enhance clinical recovery in bovine papillomatosis.
Funding: Scientific Research Council of Akdeniz University.     

Comparing mating designs to restore seed production of interspecific hybrids between Trifolium repens (white clover) and Trifolium uniflorum

Interspecific hybrids between Trifolium uniflorum and cultivated white clover (Trifolium repens) have highly useful characteristics for temperate pastoral systems derived from both parent species. However, the early hybrids (F₁ and BC₁) also have unacceptably poor seed production for commerce. This study analysed the basis for the poor seed production and investigated breeding strategies for overcoming the problem. The BC₁F₁ generation produced lower‐than‐expected numbers of heads per plant and seeds per floret. Backcrossing of selected hybrids to white clover corrected these deficiencies and created new variation. Seed numbers were also returned to near target levels by recurrent selection within the BC₁ generation. Thus, it was possible to retain a theoretical average of 25% of T. uniflorum genome and still achieve high seed production per plant. The BC₁F₂ and BC₂F₁ generations produced high seed numbers per plant, along with reasonable variation. Both of these second‐generation hybrid forms have high reproductive potential and should be the focus for the selection of the desired combinations of agronomic and seed production traits.