Administration of hCG on the seventh day after initiation of estrus may circumvent negative effects of cervical relaxation protocol in sheep: Preliminary results.

Cervical relaxation with association of estradiol benzoate, cloprostenol and oxytocin allows a cervical transposition and embryo collection in sheep by the non-surgical method (Fonseca et al., Theriogenology, 86: 144-151, 2016). However, in recipients, the use of this protocol becomes impracticable due to the use of cloprostenol, which is a luteolytic agent. Sheep are known to form accessory luteal bodies after hCG administration seven days after the onset of estrus (Castro et al., Anim. Reprod., 12: 148, 2015). Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a cervical relaxation protocol in embryo recipient ewes without compromising future gestation. The data were presented in a descriptive way. Thirteen ewes were observed in estrus out of 24 females submitted to the synchronization protocol. The pregnancy rate were 75.0% (3/4) in G1, 0.0% in G2 (0/5) and 50.0% in G3 (2/4). Preliminary results suggest that the association of estradiol benzoate and oxytocin may compromise the onset of pregnancy and that the use of hCG at the end of the protocol in D7 can circumvent partially these negative effects, allowing the establishment of pregnancy

FSH dose and strategy of administration during ovarian stimulation alter the gene expression profile in ovine cumulus-oocyte complexes.

Ovarian stimulation is an important tool to increase the number of oocytes obtained by laparoscopy for the in vitro production of embryos (IVP). In sheep, different concentrations of FSH administered in single dose (SD) or multiple doses (MD) have been adopted. In parallel, the oocyte quality is fundamental for IVP success, so strategies to produce more competent oocytes have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the gene expression profile of BCB+ COC from different hormonal protocols of ovarian stimulation in Santa Inês ewes. To achieve that, a cross-over design was used, where 12 pluriparous ewes had their follicular wave synchronized (Balaro et al., Domest Anim Endocrinol, 54: 10-14, 2016). At 80 h after progestogen implant removal, all ewes received a new vaginal sponge and it started the stimulation by administration of: 80 (Group 1 - 80-SD) or 120 (Group 2 - 120-SD) mg FSH (Folltropin-V®, Bioniche Animal Health, Ontario, Canada) and 300 IU of eCG both in single dose, or 80 (Group 3 - 80-MD) or 120 (Group 4 - 120-MD) in decreasing doses (50/30/20%) every 12 h. The COCs were recovered by laparoscopy and classified morphologically in grade I / II (homogeneous ooplasm and more than 3 cumulus cells layers), III (homogeneous ooplasm and less than 3 cumulus cells layers or partially denuded) and IV (heterogeneous ooplasm or degenerate). For inference of the development competence GI, II and III COCs were stained with bright cresyl blue (BCB) and classified into: BCB+ (competent) and BCB- (non-competent). These variables were compared by ANOVA followed by Tukey test. The abundance of mRNA that encodes proteins associated with steroidogenesis (STAR, FSHr, LHr and ER?), oocyte quality (MATER, BMP15, GDF9 and ZAR1) and apoptosis (BAX and Bcl-2) was assessed by real-time qPCR normalized with GAPDH in BCB+ COCs. The abundance of gene transcripts associated with steroidogenesis was down-regulated (P <0.05) with increasing FSH concentration, when administration was performed in a single dose (80-SD and 120-SD). On the other hand, when the administration was performed in MD, only the LHr was down-regulated (80-MD and 120-MD). In the 80-MD group, FSHr and Er? were down-regulated (P <0.05) in comparison with 80-SD. For genes related with oocyte quality, 80-MD showed up-regulation (P <0.05) to MATER (when compared to 80-SD), ZAR1 and MATER (compared to 120-SD). Nonetheless, apoptosis genes were not affected. These data demonstrate that the FSH dose and strategy of administration affect the gene expression profile in ovine COCs. Subsequent studies are necessary to assess the effect of this change on maturation rate and developmental competence.Proceedings of the 31st Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Embryo Technology Society (SBTE), Cabo de Santo Agostinho, PE, Brazil, August 17 to 19, 2017

Contrasting patterns of RUNX2 repeat variations are associated with palate shape in phyllostomid bats and New World primates

Establishing the genetic basis that underlies craniofacial variability in natural populations is one of the main topics of evolutionary and developmental studies. One of the genes associated with mammal craniofacial variability is RUNX2, and in the present study we investigated the association between craniofacial length and width and RUNX2 across New World bats (Phyllostomidae) and primates (Catarrhini and Platyrrhini). Our results showed contrasting patterns of association between the glutamate/alanine ratios (Q/A ratio) and palate shape in these highly diverse groups. In phyllostomid bats, we found an association between shorter/broader faces and increase of the Q/A ratio. In New World monkeys (NWM) there was a positive correlation of increasing Q/A ratios to more elongated faces. Our findings reinforced the role of the Q/A ratio as a flexible genetic mechanism that would rapidly change the time of skull ossification throughout development. However, we propose a scenario in which the influence of this genetic adjustment system is indirect. The Q/A ratio would not lead to a specific phenotype, but throughout the history of a lineage, would act along with evolutionary constraints, as well as other genes, as a facilitator for adaptive morphological changes.Fil: Ferraz, Tiago. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Rossoni, Daniela M.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Althoff, Sérgio L.. Universidade Regional de Blumenau; BrasilFil: Pissinatti, Alcides. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Paixão Cortês, Vanessa R.. Centro de Primatologia do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Bortolini, María Cátira. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: González José, Rolando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas; ArgentinaFil: Marroig, Gabriel. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Salzano, Francisco M.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Gonçalves, Gislene L.. Universidad de Tarapacá de Arica; Chile. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Hünemeier, Tábita. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

Isolamento e identificação do fungo Colletotrichum lindemuthianum em amostras de feijoeiro-comum coletadas em Goiás e Sergipe durante 2013.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi isolar e identificar o fungo Colletotrichum lindemuthianum em cinco amostras resultantes de três coletas realizadas nos municípios de Carira-SE (três), Santo Antônio de Goiás-GO (uma) e Brazabrantes-GO (uma), entre agosto e setembro de 2013

Administration of HCG seven days after estrous onset increases the pregnancy rate in Toggenburg goats subjected to induction of synchronized estrus and natural mating.

The dominant follicle reaches its maximum diameter on the sixth day after ovulation or seven days after the onset of estrus (Castro et al., Theriogenology, 52: 399-411, 1999). This study investigated the effect of hCG administration on the seventh day after the onset of estrus (D7) on pregnancy rate in Toggenburg goats. The study was conducted during December and January in Piau, MG, Brazil (latitude 21°35?S and longitude 43°15?W). For statistical analysis, the chi-square test was used with a significance level of 5%. The pregnancy rate of the animals receiving hCG was superior (P=0.047) than those receiving saline [90.7% (39/43) and 74.4% (32/43)]. We conclude that the use of hCG seven days after hormonally induced-estrus is an efficient strategy to increase the pregnancy rate in dairy goats

Intravaginal hCG administration increases pregnancy rate in artificially inseminated cyclic dairy goats subjected to estrous synchronization.

Pregnancy establishing after artificial insemination (AI) in goats depends on many important aspects, including time of AI, ovulation and premature luteal regression. The knowledge of ovulation in relation to estrus onset, ovulation induction and strategies to prevent PLR can be valuable tools to increase pregnancy rate. This study tested the effect of hCG administration on pregnancy rate in artificially inseminated dairy cyclic goats after estrus synchronization Results of this study showed that hCG administration associated to AI significantly increased pregnancy rates in goats after estrus synchronization with dcloprostenol, which can be a valuable and promising tool to be applied in field conditions

Dynamical Dark Energy or Simply Cosmic Curvature?

We show that the assumption of a flat universe induces critically large errors in reconstructing the dark energy equation of state at z>~0.9 even if the true cosmic curvature is very small, O(1%) or less. The spuriously reconstructed w(z) shows a range of unusual behaviour, including crossing of the phantom divide and mimicking of standard tracking quintessence models. For 1% curvature and LCDM, the error in w grows rapidly above z~0.9 reaching (50%,100%) by redshifts of (2.5,2.9) respectively, due to the long cosmological lever arm. Interestingly, the w(z) reconstructed from distance data and Hubble rate measurements have opposite trends due to the asymmetric influence of the curved geodesics. These results show that including curvature as a free parameter is imperative in any future analyses attempting to pin down the dynamics of dark energy, especially at moderate or high redshifts.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. To appear in JCA

Inflationary scalar spectrum in loop quantum cosmology

In the context of loop quantum cosmology, we consider an inflationary era driven by a canonical scalar field and occurring in the semiclassical regime, where spacetime is a continuum but quantum gravitational effects are important. The spectral amplitude and index of scalar perturbations on an unperturbed de Sitter background are computed at lowest order in the slow-roll parameters. The scalar spectrum can be blue-tilted and far from scale invariance, and tuning of the quantization ambiguities is necessary for agreement with observations. The results are extended to a generalized quantization scheme including those proposed in the literature. Quantization of the matter field at sub-horizon scales can provide a consistency check of such schemes.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures. v2: typos corrected, discussion improved and extended, new section added. Conclusions are unchange

Planck 2013 results. XXII. Constraints on inflation

We analyse the implications of the Planck data for cosmic inflation. The Planck nominal mission temperature anisotropy measurements, combined with the WMAP large-angle polarization, constrain the scalar spectral index to be ns = 0:9603 _ 0:0073, ruling out exact scale invariance at over 5_: Planck establishes an upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r < 0:11 (95% CL). The Planck data thus shrink the space of allowed standard inflationary models, preferring potentials with V00 < 0. Exponential potential models, the simplest hybrid inflationary models, and monomial potential models of degree n _ 2 do not provide a good fit to the data. Planck does not find statistically significant running of the scalar spectral index, obtaining dns=dln k = 0:0134 _ 0:0090. We verify these conclusions through a numerical analysis, which makes no slowroll approximation, and carry out a Bayesian parameter estimation and model-selection analysis for a number of inflationary models including monomial, natural, and hilltop potentials. For each model, we present the Planck constraints on the parameters of the potential and explore several possibilities for the post-inflationary entropy generation epoch, thus obtaining nontrivial data-driven constraints. We also present a direct reconstruction of the observable range of the inflaton potential. Unless a quartic term is allowed in the potential, we find results consistent with second-order slow-roll predictions. We also investigate whether the primordial power spectrum contains any features. We find that models with a parameterized oscillatory feature improve the fit by __2 e_ _ 10; however, Bayesian evidence does not prefer these models. We constrain several single-field inflation models with generalized Lagrangians by combining power spectrum data with Planck bounds on fNL. Planck constrains with unprecedented accuracy the amplitude and possible correlation (with the adiabatic mode) of non-decaying isocurvature fluctuations. The fractional primordial contributions of cold dark matter (CDM) isocurvature modes of the types expected in the curvaton and axion scenarios have upper bounds of 0.25% and 3.9% (95% CL), respectively. In models with arbitrarily correlated CDM or neutrino isocurvature modes, an anticorrelated isocurvature component can improve the _2 e_ by approximately 4 as a result of slightly lowering the theoretical prediction for the ` <_ 40 multipoles relative to the higher multipoles. Nonetheless, the data are consistent with adiabatic initial conditions