Investigation of Cervical Patency and Uterine Appearance in Domestic Cats by Fluoroscopy and Scintigraphy

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.     

Reproductive roles predict sexual dimorphism in internal and external morphology of lake whitefish,Coregonus clupeaformis

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.     

Outbreak of cucumber mosaic virus on musa sp. in Tamil Nadu,India

Cucumber Mosaic Virus, or Infectious Chlorosis, was found in alarming proportions in all the districts of Tamil Nadu on the ‘Robusta’ (Dwarf Cavendish) and ‘Poovan’ (Mysore) cultivais. The disease was transmitted only through suckers from the diseased gardens. Among the genotypes screened, the clones with ABB genomes showed complete field resistance.     

Prediction of irrigation return flows through a hierarchical modeling approach

The quantity of water available for irrigation is getting scarce in many countries and it assumes great importance for assured crop production, especially in view of the erratic behavior of the monsoon. Thus, there is a pressing need to improve the water efficiency of irrigation systems. One-way of improving the efficiency of the irrigation system is reusing the return flow from the irrigation system. This task requires quantification of return flow, which still remains as a grey area in irrigation water management. The estimation of return flow from the irrigation system is usually obtained using thumb rules depending upon the site-specific conditions like command area conditions and soil properties. In this paper, a hierarchical modeling technique, namely, regression tree is developed for return flow estimation. Regression tree is built through binary recursive partitioning. The effective rainfall, inflow, consumptive water demand, and percolation loss are taken as predictor variables and return flow is treated as the target variable. The applicability of the hierarchical model is demonstrated through a case study of Periyar-Vaigai Irrigation System in Tamil Nadu, India. The model performance shows a good match between the simulated and the field measured return flow values. Results of statistical analysis indicated that the correlation coefficients are high for both single as well as double crop seasons.     

Theoretical and Empirical Relationships Between Oat Test Weight and Groat Proportion

Test weight and groat proportion are two very important quality characteristics of oat grain. In this study, we pose the hypothesis that these two characteristics are related through characteristics of grain density. Test weight is defined as the product of kernel density and packing proportion. Groat proportion, in theory, is the ratio of the groat mass to the kernel mass. We present two theoretical constructions expressing test weight in terms of groat proportion, packing proportion and kernel density components. To test these, we have applied measurements of test weight, groat proportion, kernel density components, and packing proportion of 18 oat cultivars grown at six environments. Whereas the groat proportion alone accounted for only 34% of the variation in test weight, our theoretical constructions that included groat proportion could account for ≤82% of variation in test weight. Also, we present previously undescribed variation in oat kernel density components across genotypes and environments. Although the kernel density alone could account for most of the variation in test weight across genotypes, packing proportion appeared to be more important in describing variation in test weight of a genotype across different environments. We observed significant variation in both groat and hull density which, together with groat proportion, described most of the variation in kernel density.     

Low‐density lipoproteins and milk serum proteins improve the quality of stallion sperm after vitrification in straws

Lipids and proteins can be used for sperm vitrification to preserve the integrity of sperm membranes or to increase the viscosity of the medium. This study evaluated the effect of low‐density lipoproteins (LDL) and milk serum proteins (Pronexcell) for stallion sperm vitrification. Hippex extender (Barex Biochemical Products, The Netherlands), plus 1% of bovine serum albumin and 100 mM of trehalose, was used as control for sperm vitrification. In experiment 1, different concentrations of LDL (L1 = 0.25, L2 = 0.5, L3 = 1%) and in experiment 2 of Pronexcell (P1 = 1, P2 = 5, P3 = 10%) were added to control extender. Vitrification was performed in 0.25‐ml straws directly plunged into liquid nitrogen. Total motility (TM, %) and progressive motility (PM, %) were analysed by CASA, and plasma membrane (IMS, %) and acrosome membrane integrity (AIS, %) were assessed under epifluorescence microscopy. Post‐warmed sperm parameters were compared between treatments by ANOVA. Results were expressed as mean ± SEM. In both experiments, the minimum concentration of LDL and Pronexcell obtained significantly higher values (p < 0.01) than the control extender for TM (L1 = 52.95 ± 4.4; P1 = 58.99 ± 4.6; C = 30.88 ± 3.0), PM (L1 = 36.79 ± 5.5; P1 = 47.25 ± 4.3; C = 19.20 ± 2.4), IMS (L1 = 68.88 ± 3.6; P1 = 47.25 ± 4.3; C = 52.81 ± 2.6) and AIS (L1 = 45.88 ± 3.6; P1 = 47.25 ± 4.3; C = 26.00 ± 2.1). No differences in sperm parameters were found among different concentrations of LDL or Pronexcell. In conclusion, the addition of 0.25% LDL and 1% Pronexcell to the vitrification extender is recommended to improve the quality of stallion sperm after vitrification.