Multifaceted Interplay among Social Dominance, Body Condition, Appetitive and Consummatory Sexual Behaviors, and Semen Quality in Dorper Rams during Out-Of-Season and Transition Periods.

Dorper rams (n = 24) were evaluated during the sexual resting season to determine their social rank (SR), either high (HSR) or low (LSR), under intensive management conditions in northern Mexico (25° N). Aggressive behaviors were quantified during male-to-male interactions, and appetitive and consummatory sexual behaviors during male-to-female interactions. Morphometric, live weight (LW), and body condition score (BCS) were recorded. During the early reproductive season, male-to-female behaviors were newly itemized simultaneously by seminal quality and quantity sampling. Finally, the dependent variables of the hemogram components were also quantified. Neither LW (61.25 ± 2.4 kg) nor morphometric variables differed between SR groups. However, BCS (2.25 vs. 2.66 u), sexual behaviors (i.e., approaches: 59.6 vs. 21.73 n, mating with ejaculation: 77.7 vs. 42.86 %, latency to ejaculation: 16.6 vs. 143.07 s), ejaculate volume (0.57 vs. 0.23 mL), and hemogram components favored the HSR rams (p < 0.05). Moreover, in their first male-to-female interaction, >50% of the LSR rams failed to display any sexual activity. HSR rams displayed a greater number of threatening behaviors, managing to displace LSR rams when exposed to estrus ewes during the male sexual resting season; more sexual behaviors; and an increased seminal volume in a non-live weight-dependent fashion.

Goats as Valuable Animal Model to Test the Targeted Glutamate Supplementation upon Antral Follicle Number, Ovulation Rate, and LH-Pulsatility.

The potential effect of intravenous administration of glutamate on the ovarian activity and the LH secretion pattern, considering the anestrous yearling goat as an animal model, were assessed. In late April, yearling goats (n = 20) were randomly assigned to either (1) Glutamate supplemented (GLUT; n = 10, Live Weight (LW) = 29.6 ± 1.02 kg, Body Condition (BCS) = 3.4 ± 0.2 units; i.v. supplemented with 7 mg GLUT kg−1 LW) or (2) Non-supplemented (CONT; n = 10; LW = 29.2 ± 1.07 kg, BCS = 3.5 ± 0.2 units; i.v. saline). The oats were estrus-synchronized; blood sampling (6 h × 15 min) was carried out for LH quantification. Response variables included pulsatility (PULSE), time to first pulse (TTFP), amplitude (AMPL), nadir (NAD), and area under the curve (AUC) of LH. Ovaries were ultra-sonographically scanned to assess ovulation rate (OR), number of antral follicles (AF), and total ovarian activity (TOA = OR + AF). LH-PULSE was quantified with the Munro algorithm; significant treatment x time interactions were evaluated across time. The variables LW and BCS did not differ (p > 0.05) between the experimental groups. Nevertheless, OR (1.77 vs. 0.87 ± 0.20 units), TOA (4.11 vs. 1.87 ± 0.47 units) and LH-PULSE (5.0 vs. 2.2 pulses 6 h-1) favored (p < 0.05) to the GLUT group. Our results reveal that targeted glutamate supplementation, the main central nervous system neurotransmitter, arose as an interesting strategy to enhance the hypothalamic−hypophyseal−ovarian response considering the anestrous-yearling goat as an animal model, with thought-provoking while promising translational applications.

Concentraciones de plomo, cadmio y cromo y su relación con algunas modificaciones morfológicas en tejidos de palomas Columba livia de la ciudad de México e Ixtlahuaca: Estado de México / Lead, chromium and cadmium concentrations and their relationshio to tissue morphological alterations in pigeons (Columba livia) from the valley of Mexico City and Ixtlahuacan in the State of Mexico

Se muestrearon 50 palomas Columba livia de 5 zonas del área metropolitana de la ciudad de México y 10 de Ixtlahuaca, Estado de México, con la finalidad de medir las concentraciones de plomo, cadmio y cromo, las características histológicas de encéfalo, pulmón, hígado y riñon y las alteraciones ultraestructurales utilizando nicroscopia electrónica de barrido en el caso de pulmón. Las concentraciones más altas de plomo se observaron en el riñón, con 11.03 ppm, en la Merced; de cadmio, en riñón con 6,86 ppm y en el Pedregal de San Angel y con 6.07 ppm en Tlalnepantla. Las muestras del municipio de Ixtlahuacan tuvieron siempre los valores más bajos y las concentraciones más altas fueron: plomo, 2.19 ppm, en hígado; cadmio, 0.91 ppm, en riñón, y cromo, 1.54 ppm, en encéfalo. Las concentraciones promedio de plomo en las palomas de la ciudad de México fueron en riñón 7.6, en encéfalo 5.15, en hígado 3.92 y en pulmón 3.64 ppm. Las concentraciones promedio del cadmio fueron: en rinón, 5.32; hígado, 1.04; encéfalo 0.86 y pulmón 0.58 ppm. Los valores promedio de cromo fueron: riñón, 4.34; encéfalo; 3.79; pulmón; 2.65 y en hígado 1.77 ppm. Lo observado en el pulmón a nivel ultraestructural fueron partículas en las muestras de las zonas de Tlalnepantla, San Felipe y La Merced, pero no se observaron cuerpo ferruginosos en el estudio histológico. Los principales hallazgos histológicos encontrados fueron: Infiltración linfocitaria multifocal en pulmón, Hígado y riñón, así como hemosiderina en pulmón e hígado y antracosis en pulmón, además de metaplasia ósea en el parénquima pulmonar en un solo caso