The cervical patency of six domestic female cats was monitored under sedation by infusion of contrast medium (Omnipaque) into the cranial vagina during early oestrus, mid‐oestrus, late oestrus and interoestrus or a radiopharmaceutical (99mTc‐HSA) during mid‐ and interoestrus in a non‐ovulatory oestrous cycle. The transport of the contrast medium or the radiopharmaceutical through the cervix and within the uterine horns was observed under fluoroscopy and with the aid of scintigraphy. In three of the queens, transcervical transport of contrast medium was demonstrated in all stages of oestrus, in one queen during mid‐oestrus, late oestrus and 1 day after oestrus, and in two queens only during late oestrus. The relations between the cervical patency to the contrast medium and the oestrous behaviour, cornification of the vaginal cells and the serum oestradiol‐17β concentration were evaluated, and a relationship was found between the cervical patency and the degree of vaginal cornification. Transcervical transport of the radiopharmaceutical was observed in three queens during mid‐oestrus. When the cervix was open, hysterography under a fluoroscope and hysteroscintigraphy were performed. The fluoroscopic and scintigraphic recordings revealed the patterns of the uterine contractions during oestrus in both ascending and descending directions, and the movement of the uterine contents back and forth between the uterine horns. The hysterograms were classified according to the shape of the uterine horns and the appearance of the endometrial lining. Spiral‐shaped uterine horns with a smooth inner contour were observed in two queens, and a corkscrew appearance with irregular filling defects in the uterine lumen was shown in two queens that had developed subclinical cystic endometrial hyperplasia. These findings demonstrated that fluids or particles deposited in the cranial vagina of the cat can be transported into the uterus during some stages of the oestrous cycle. The fluoroscopic and scintigraphic techniques developed in this study may be further modified to permit more detailed studies of uterine contractile patterns and sperm transport in the feline female reproductive tract. Hysterography proved useful to diagnose uterine disease. The information on cervical patency is of value also for the development of techniques for artificial insemination in this species, and should be studied also in the ovulatory cycle. 相似文献
Abstract – The different reproductive roles of the sexes can predict the direction and magnitude of sexual dimorphism of external and internal morphology. Males should have enlarged structures that enhance the acquisition of mating opportunities, whereas females are predicted to have enlarged organs that are associated with the production of eggs. We tested these predictions in male and female lake whitefish, a species in which both sexes have similar overall body size and shape. After controlling for body size, male lake whitefish had significantly longer jaws and pectoral and pelvic fins, larger hearts, and more muscle than females. Sexual dimorphism in relative muscle mass may be one of the most fundamental morphological differences between males and females. Females had relatively heavier livers than males. Because the liver is important for the breakdown of fats and vitellogenesis, selection should favour an enlarged liver in females for the processing of energy and the production of large numbers of eggs. 相似文献
1. The effect of pelleting process and Trichoderma viride enzymes (TVE) addition on apparent metabolisable energy, corrected for nitrogen balance (AMEn) and on productive value of practical diets containing 40 and 45% of three different barley cultivars and one wheat were studied in poultry.
2. The effect of the pelleting process on AMEn was inconsistent and was dependent on the cereal included and the addition of enzyme.
3. The growth trial showed a significant effect of enzyme addition to pelleted diets over the whole growth period (0 to 42 d). Addition of TVE improved weight gain and food efficiency by 1.3% and 2.9%, respectively and decreased food intake by 1.6% between 0 and 22 d. In the finisher period (23 to 42 d) TVE improved efficiency by 2.8% and reduced food intake by 2.9%.
4. The incidence of sticky droppings was related to the viscosity of barley used, and enzyme supplementation reduced it. Both pelleting and enzyme addition increased dry matter content of excreta.
5. At the end of the experiment, 14 animals per treatment were slaughtered and carcass yield, viscera weight and abdominal fat were determined. 相似文献
1. The growing embryo uses about 1% of the total protein available in the egg during the first week of incubation.
2. Injecting the growing embryo with amino acids equivalent to the amount of protein used resulted in higher weight of chicks at all stages up to 56 d. 相似文献
1. Under summer conditions in north Iraq, 2 000 chicks were reared for 56 d in two broiler houses. One house was provided with two air‐coolers. The birds were housed at densities of eight to 16 birds/m2.
2. Differences in weight gain between birds in cooled and uncooled houses ranged from 101.5 g at eight birds/m2 to 385 g at 16 birds/m2. Food consumption increased gradually with increasing bird density. Food conversion efficiency, meat yield and carcass conformation were much better in the cooled house than under conventional conditions.
3. The financial return/m2 ranged from 2.30 to 4.51 ID1 in the cooled house, compared with 2.01 to 2.77 ID in the uncooled house at different floor densities. 相似文献
The aim of these experiments was to investigate the potential antiviral effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiaeβ‐glucan on the pneumonia induced by swine influenza virus (SIV). Forty colostrum‐deprived 5‐day‐old piglets were randomly divided into four groups of 10. The 20 pigs in groups 1 and 2 were administered Saccharomyces cerevisiaeβ‐glucan orally (50 mg/day/pig; En‐Bio Technology Co., Ltd) for 3 days before SIV infection and those in groups 3 and 4 were given culture medium/diluent alone. Groups 1 and 3 were inoculated intranasally with 3 ml of tissue culture fluid containing 2 × 106 tissue culture infective doses 50% (TCID50)/ml of SIV and those in groups 2 and 4 were exposed in the same manner to uninfected cell culture supernatant. The microscopic lung lesions induced by SIV infection (group 1 pigs) were significantly more severe than those induced by infection in animals pre‐administered β‐glucan (group 3) (P < 0.05). Significantly more SIV nucleic acid was detected in the lungs of pigs experimentally infected with SIV only (group 1) at 5, 7 and 10 days post‐inoculation (dpi) compared with lungs from pigs pre‐administered β‐glucan and infected with SIV (group 3) (P < 0.05). The concentrations of interferon‐γ (IFN‐γ) and nitric oxide (NO) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from pigs pre‐administered β‐glucan and infected with SIV (group 3) were significantly higher than for any other group at 7 and 10 dpi for IFN‐γ, and at 5, 7 and 10 dpi for NO (P < 0.05). Saccharomyces cerevisiaeβ‐glucan reduced the pulmonary lesion score and viral replication rate in SIV‐infected pigs. These findings support the potential application of β‐glucan as prophylactic/treatment agent in influenza virus infection. 相似文献
Discovering new drug candidates with high efficacy and few side effects is a major challenge in new drug development. The two evolutionarily related peptides oxytocin (OXT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are known to be associated with a variety of physiological and psychological processes via the association of OXT with three types of AVP receptors. Over decades, many synthetic analogs of these peptides have been designed and tested for therapeutic applications; however, only a few studies of their natural analogs have been performed. In this study, we investigated the bioactivity and usefulness of two natural OXT/AVP analogs that originate from the marine invertebrate Octopus vulgaris, named octopressin (OTP) and cephalotocin (CPT). By measuring the intracellular Ca2+ or cyclic AMP increase in each OXT/AVP receptor subtype–overexpressing cell, we found that CPT, but not OTP, acts as a selective agonist of human AVP type 1b and 2 receptors. This behavior is reminiscent of desmopressin, the most widely prescribed antidiuretic drug in the world. Similar to the case for desmopressin, a single intravenous tail injection of CPT into Sprague-Dawley rats reduced urine output and increased urinary osmolality. In conclusion, we suggest that CPT has a significant antidiuretic effect and that CPT might be beneficial for treating urological conditions such as nocturia, enuresis, and diabetes insipidus. 相似文献