Research progress on the role of melatonin and its receptors in animal reproduction: A comprehensive review.

Melatonin and its receptors play a crucial role in the regulation of the animal reproductive process, primarily in follicular development. However, the role that melatonin performs in regulating hormones related with reproduction remains unclear. Melatonin and its receptors are present both in female and male animals' organs, such as ovaries, heart, brain and liver. Melatonin regulates ovarian actions and is a key mediator of reproductive actions. Melatonin has numerous effects on animal reproduction, such as protection of gametes and embryos, response to clock genes, immune-neuroendocrine, reconciliation of seasonal variations in immune function, and silence or blockage of genes. The growth ratio of reproductive illnesses in animals has raised a remarkable concern for the government, animal caretakers and farm managers. In order to resolve this challenging issue, it is very necessary to conduct state-of-the-art research on melatonin and its receptors because melatonin has considerable physiognomies. This review article presents a current contemporary research conducted by numerous researchers from the entire world on the role of melatonin and its receptors in animal reproduction, from the year 1985 to the year 2017. Furthermore, this review shows scientific research challenges related to melatonin receptors and their explanations based on the findings of 172 numerous research articles, and also represents significant proficiencies of melatonin in order to show enthusiastic study direction for animal reproduction researchers.

[Clinical lung function investigations in sheep]. / Klinische Lungenfunktionsuntersuchungen bei Schafen.

In 144 clinical healthy and 97 sick sheep pneumotachographic investigations were performed. In 119 sheep the diagnoses "healthy" based on adspection, auscultation and palpatory percussion. In 25 additional healthy and in the sick animals the diagnoses based on clinical, endoscopical, serological, parasitological, and in 82 animals also pathomorphological findings. According to these diagnoses the animals were divided into the following groups: G = healthy, K = catarrhal purulent bronchopneumonia, E = suppurative pneumonia, W = verminous pneumonia, M = Maedi, MKE = Maedi + catarrhal purulent or suppurative pneumonia, MAKE = Maedi + Adenomatosis + catarrhal purulent or suppurative pneumonia, AKE = Adenomatosis + catarrhal purulent or suppurative pneumonia, and FAKE = animals of the AKE group at an earlier date of investigation. In all sheep respiration rate, tidal and minute volumes, forced tidal volume, peak flow and resistance were measured with the portable pneumotachograph Flowscreen. Tidal and minute volumes and flow rates depended at rest as well as after forced ventilation essentially from the respiratory rate and from the body weight of the animals. The average individual coefficients of variation of repeated measurements of healthy animals were between 21% and 36%. Only in tidal volume after forced ventilation (10%) and in the resistance (18%) the individual coefficients of variations were lower. In 57% of the animals with Lung Adenomatosis resistance-values over 0.4 kPa*s/l were measured, but in 94% of the sheep without adenomatosis resistance-values remained under this limit.