Development of new semen cryopreservation techniques improving sperm survival and ensuring availability of viable spermatozoa for a prolonged time‐period after AI is promising tools to reduce sensitivity of timing of AI and enhance overall fertility. The SpermVital® technology utilizes immobilization of bull spermatozoa in a solid network of alginate gel prior to freezing, which will provide a gradual release of spermatozoa after AI. The objective of this study was to compare post‐thaw sperm quality and in vitro sperm survival over time of Norwegian Red bull semen processed by the SpermVital® (SV) technology, the first commercialized production line of SpermVital® (C) and by conventional procedure applying Biladyl® extender (B). Post‐thaw sperm motility was not significantly different between SV, C and B semen (p > .05). However, sperm viability and acrosome intactness were higher for SV than C and B semen (p < .05). Small differences in DNA quality were observed (p < .05). Sperm viability after storage in uterus ex vivo was higher for SV than for C semen (p < .05). Furthermore, sperm survival in vitro over time at physiological temperature was significantly higher for SV semen than C semen as well as B semen during the incubation period of 48 hr (p < .05). In conclusion, the SpermVital® technology is improved and is more efficient in conserving post‐thaw sperm quality and results in higher sperm viability over time in vitro for SV than for C and B semen. 相似文献
The aim of this study, comprising two experiments, was (1) to determine in Experiment 1 the relationship of incremental dietary P (phosphorus) content on precaecal digestible P in male broilers and (2) to determine in Experiment 2 the precaecal P digestibility of various inorganic P sources at marginal levels of P supply.
In Experiment 1, a total of 260 male Ross 308 broilers were divided into groups of 10 birds per pen resulting in 8 replicates for treatment 1 and 6 replicates for treatments 2–4. Experimental diets were formulated to contain 4 incremental concentrations of digestible P by means of increasing concentrations of monocalcium phosphate (MCP). In the second experiment, 480-d-old male Ross 308 broilers were divided in groups of 12 birds per pen resulting in 16 replicates for the basal diet and 6 replicates for each test diet. A total of 4 inorganic P sources, MCP, monodicalcium phosphate (MDCP), dicalcium phosphate (DCP) and defluorinated phosphate (DFP) were added to the basal diet to determine the precaecal P digestibility. Three of the 4 inorganic P sources (MCP, MDCP and DCP) represented a mix of batches from different producers. At the end of both experiments, the chyme of the posterior part of the small intestine was collected. Digestibility of P and Ca was determined using titanium dioxide as indigestible marker.
In Experiment 1, a reduction in precaecal digestibility of P was observed above an estimated precaecal digestible dietary P concentration of 4.8 g/kg.
The precaecal P digestibility of the tested inorganic P sources in Experiment 2 was 78.3% for MCP, 59.0% for DCP, 70.7% for MDCP and 31.5% for DFP.
Background, Aim and Scope
Coastal and river plains are the surfaces of depositional systems, to which sediment input is a parameter of key-importance.
Their habitation and economic development usually requires protection with dikes, quays, etc., which are effective in retaining
floods but have the side effect of retarding sedimentation in their hinterlands. The flood-protected Dutch lowlands (so-called
dike-ring areas) have been sediment-starved for up to about a millennium. In addition to this, peat decomposition and soil
compaction, brought about by land drainage, have caused significant land subsidence. Sediment deficiency, defined as the combined
effect of sediment-starvation and drainage-induced volume losses, has already been substantial in this area, and it is expected
to become urgent in view of the forecasted effects of climate change (sea-level rise, intensified precipitation and run-off).
We therefore explore this deficiency, compare it with natural (Holocene) and current human sediment inputs, and discuss it
in terms of long-term land-use options.
Materials and Methods:
We use available 3D geological models to define natural sediment inputs to our study area. Recent progress in large-scale
modelling of peat oxidation and compaction enables us to address volume loss associated with these processes. Human sediment
inputs are based on published minerals statistics. All results are given as first-order approximations.
Results:
The current sediment deficit in the diked lowlands of the Netherlands is estimated at 136 ± 67 million m3/a. About 85% of
this volume is the hypothetical amount of sediment required to keep up with sea-level rise, and 15% is the effect of land
drainage (peat decomposition and compaction). The average Holocene sediment input to our study area (based on a total of 145
km3) is ~14 million m3/a, and the maximum (millennium-averaged) input ~26 million m3/a. Historical sediment deficiency has
resulted in an unused sediment accommodation space of about 13.3 km3. Net human input of sediment material currently amounts
to ~23 million m3/a.
Discussion:
As sedimentary processes in the Dutch lowlands have been retarded, the depositional system's natural resilience to sea-level
rise is low, and all that is left to cope is human countermeasure. Preserving some sort of status quo with water management
solutions may reach its limits in the foreseeable future. The most viable long-term solutions therefore seem a combination
of allowing for more water in open country (anything from flood-buffer zones to open water) and raising lands that are to
be built up (enabling their lasting protection). As to the latter, doubling or tripling the use of filling sand in a planned
and sustained effort may resolve up to one half of the Dutch sediment deficiency problems in about a century.
Conclusions:
Conclusions, Recommendations and Perspectives. We conclude that sediment deficiency – past, present and future – challenges
the sustainable habitation of the Dutch lowlands. In order to explore possible solutions, we recommend the development of
long-term scenarios for the changing lowland physiography, that include the effects of Global Change, compensation measures,
costs and benefits, and the implications for long-term land-use options.
Recommendations and Perspectives:
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Early pregnancy diagnosis and monitoring play an important role following embryo transfer in sheep. The aims of the current study were to investigate (i) the pattern of serum progesterone profiles in sheep carrying somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)‐derived (clone) pregnancies, and (ii) the frequency of pregnancy loss during development following SCNT embryo transfer. Sheep SCNT embryos were made using standard nuclear transfer techniques. Day 7 embryos were surgically transferred to oestrus‐synchronized recipients (n = 27). As a control, normal fertile ewes (n = 12) were bred by natural breeding. Serum was collected from all the ewes on the day of estrus (day 0 sample), 7 days post‐estrus (day 7 sample) and 19 days post‐estrus (day 19 sample) and every 10 days thereafter until lambing or pregnancy loss occurred. Serum progesterone (P4) was assessed using enzyme immunoassay. Pregnancy was confirmed by ultrasound scanning on day 35 of pregnancy followed by subsequent scanning every 10 days. In control ewes, pregnancy rate on day 35 was 83.3% (10/12), whereas in the ewes that received SCNT embryos, it was 22.2% (6/27; p < 0.05). The day 45 pregnancy rate in the control ewes was 83.3%, whereas in the SCNT embryo recipients it was 11.0% (p < 0.05). Hormone analysis revealed that SCNT embryo recipients exhibited a significantly lower P4 profiles at different time points in pregnancy compared to controls (p < 0.05). This study highlights the use of serum progesterone in combination with ultrasound for the investigation of embryo loss and crucial times during development of normal and SCNT embryos in sheep. Further, the serum P4 levels directly reflect the degree of placental development in these two groups. 相似文献
In August 2006 a major epidemic of Bluetongue (BT) occurred in north-western Europe, affecting The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg, and the north of France. It was caused by Br virus serotype 8 (BTV-8), a serotype previously unknown to the EU. Although clinical disease is usually restricted to sheep, this virus also caused clinical disease in a small proportion of cattle. The last clinical outbreak of BT in The Netherlands occurred mid-December 2006. The delay between observation of the first clinical signs by the owner and reporting of a clinically suspect BT situation to the veterinary authorities was approximately 2 weeks. BTV-8-associated clinical signs were more prominent in sheep than in cattle, and the relative frequency of specific clinical signs was different in cattle and sheep. Morbidity and mortality rates were significantly higher among sheep than among cattle, and a higher proportion of cattle than sheep recovered from clinical disease. 相似文献