Influence of different eCG doses on the rabbit doe ovary response, fertilizing aptitude and embryo development

[EN] The aim of this experiment was to compare the ovary response, the fertilising aptitude and the embryo development of multiparous rabbit does having received during the whole career 0 (control: no injection, group 0), 8 or 25 IU of eCG (groups 8 and 25, respectively) 48 h before each 4 d post partum insemination. After the 11th series of insemination, two groups of 60 does were sacrifi ced 30 h or 14 d after insemination. The percentage of ovulating females does not vary according to the eCG treatment, but the ovulation rate (number of corpora lutea per ovulating does) and the fertilising rate (number of segmented ova/number of corpora lutea x100) increases with eCG dose [10.2, 11.1, 12.3 corpora lutea (P=0.011); 61.6 vs 97.5, 81.2% (P<0.001), for groups 0, 8 and 25 IU respectively]. In a same way, at 14 d of pregnancy, the embryo survival (1-(number of corpora lutea ¿ number of alive embryos/ number of corpora lutea)) increases with the injected amount of eCG (55.1 vs 69.9 and 83.1% for groups 0, 8 and 25, respectively, P=0.023). Moreover, eCG completely removes the fertilising failure independent of ovulation. Compared with the other does, lactating-non-receptive does have a lower fertilisation rate (70.0 vs 90.2%, P=0.008) and a weaker embryo survival (55.3 vs 83.5%, P<0.001). It is concluded that with intensive reproduction rhythm (4 d post partum insemination), an 8 IU of eCG injected 48 h before insemination is enough to enhance the ovulation rate, the embryo survival and the fertilisation rate of multiparous does.Ttheau-Clément, M.; Lebas, F.; Falières, J. (2010). Influence of different eCG doses on the rabbit doe ovary response, fertilizing aptitude and embryo development. World Rabbit Science. 16(2). doi:10.4995/wrs.2008.62916

Effects of forcing differences and initial conditions on inter-model agreement in the VolMIP volc-pinatubo-full experiment

This paper provides initial results from a multi-model ensemble analysis based on the volc-pinatubo-full experiment performed within the Model Intercomparison Project on the climatic response to Volcanic forcing (VolMIP) as part of the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The volc-pinatubo-full experiment is based on an ensemble of volcanic forcing-only climate simulations with the same volcanic aerosol dataset across the participating models (the 1991-1993 Pinatubo period from the CMIP6-GloSSAC dataset). The simulations are conducted within an idealized experimental design where initial states are sampled consistently across models from the CMIP6-piControl simulation providing unperturbed preindustrial background conditions. The multi-model ensemble includes output from an initial set of six participating Earth system models (CanESM5, GISS-E2.1-G, IPSL-CM6A-LR, MIROC-E2SL, MPI-ESM1.2-LR and UKESM1). The results show overall good agreement between the different models on the global and hemispheric scales concerning the surface climate responses, thus demonstrating the overall effectiveness of VolMIP's experimental design. However, small yet significant inter-model discrepancies are found in radiative fluxes, especially in the tropics, that preliminary analyses link with minor differences in forcing implementation; model physics, notably aerosol-radiation interactions; the simulation and sampling of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO); and, possibly, the simulation of climate feedbacks operating in the tropics. We discuss the volc-pinatubo-full protocol and highlight the advantages of volcanic forcing experiments defined within a carefully designed protocol with respect to emerging modelling approaches based on large ensemble transient simulations. We identify how the VolMIP strategy could be improved in future phases of the initiative to ensure a cleaner sampling protocol with greater focus on the evolving state of ENSO in the pre-eruption period

Effect of different weaning age (21, 28 or 35 days) on production, growth and certain parameters of the digestive tract in rabbits

The effect of different weaning ages, that is, 21 (G21), 28 (G28) or 35 (G35) days, on growth and certain parameters of the digestive tract was examined in rabbits to assess the risk of early weaning attributable to the less-developed digestive system. On days 35 and 42, G35 rabbits had 10% to 14% and 10% higher BW, respectively ( P,0.05), than those weaned at days 21 and 28. In the 4th week of life, early weaned animals had 75% higher feed intake than G28 and G35 rabbits ( P,0.05). The relative weight of the liver increased by 62% between 21 and 28 days of age, and thereafter it decreased by 76% between 35 and 42 days of age ( P,0.05), with G21 rabbits having 29% higher weight compared with G35 animals on day 35 ( P,0.05). The relative weight of the whole gastrointestinal (GI) tract increased by 49% and 22% after weaning in G21 and G28 rabbits, respectively ( P,0.05). On day 28, the relative weight of the GI tract was 19% higher in G21 than in G28 rabbits, whereas on day 35 G21 and G28 animals had a 12% heavier GI tract compared with G35 rabbits ( P,0.05). Age influenced the ratio of stomach, small intestine and caecum within the GI tract; however, no effect of different weaning age was demonstrated. The pH value of the stomach and caecum decreased from 5.7 to 1.6 and from 7.1 to 6.3, respectively, whereas that of the small intestine increased from 6.8 to 8.4 ( P,0.05); the differences between groups were not statistically significant. Strictly anaerobic culturable bacteria were present in the caecum in high amounts (108), already at 14 days of age; no significant difference attributable to weaning age was demonstrable. The concentration of total volatile fatty acids (tVFA) was higher in G21 than in G28 and G35 throughout the experimental period ( P,0.05). The proportion of acetic and butyric acid within tVFA increased, whereas that of propionic acid decreased, resulting in a C3 : C4 ratio decreasing with age. Early weaning (G21) resulted in higher butyric acid and lower propionic acid proportions on day 28 ( P,0.05). No interaction between age and treatment was found, except in relative weight of the GI tract and caecal content. In conclusion, early weaning did not cause considerable changes in the digestive physiological parameters measured, but it resulted in 10% lower growth in rabbits

Costly mating delays drive female ornamentation in a capital breeder

How fecundity might be traded off with mate attraction and other aspects of reproduction in females remains poorly understood. We investigated these allocation trade-offs using the common glowworm (Lampyris noctiluca), a lampyrid beetle, in which flightless, sedentary females only use resources gathered during the larval stage to attract flying males by glowing. While sexual signaling was not found to have a significant fecundity cost, a delay in successfully attracting a mate greatly increased the risk of reproductive failure, with fecundity losses being more severe in small females. These findings are among the first to show that failure to quickly attract a mate can decrease female fecundity. The results also show how the length of delay before mating can drive the evolution of female sexual ornamentation.Peer reviewe

Submarine record of volcanic island construction and collapse in the Lesser Antilles arc: First scientific drilling of submarine volcanic island landslides by IODP Expedition 340

IODP Expedition 340 successfully drilled a series of sites offshore Montserrat, Martinique and Dominica in the Lesser Antilles from March to April 2012. These are among the few drill sites gathered around volcanic islands, and the first scientific drilling of large and likely tsunamigenic volcanic island-arc landslide deposits. These cores provide evidence and tests of previous hypotheses for the composition and origin of those deposits. Sites U1394, U1399, and U1400 that penetrated landslide deposits recovered exclusively seafloor-sediment, comprising mainly turbidites and hemipelagic deposits, and lacked debris avalanche deposits. This supports the concepts that i/ volcanic debris avalanches tend to stop at the slope break, and ii/ widespread and voluminous failures of pre-existing low-gradient seafloor sediment can be triggered by initial emplacement of material from the volcano. Offshore Martinique (U1399 and 1400), the landslide deposits comprised blocks of parallel strata that were tilted or micro-faulted, sometimes separated by intervals of homogenized sediment (intense shearing), while Site U1394 offshore Montserrat penetrated a flat-lying block of intact strata. The most likely mechanism for generating these large-scale seafloor-sediment failures appears to be propagation of a decollement from proximal areas loaded and incised by a volcanic debris avalanche. These results have implications for the magnitude of tsunami generation. Under some conditions, volcanic island landslide deposits comprised of mainly seafloor sediment will tend to form smaller magnitude tsunamis than equivalent volumes of subaerial block-rich mass flows rapidly entering water. Expedition 340 also successfully drilled sites to access the undisturbed record of eruption fallout layers intercalated with marine sediment which provide an outstanding high-resolution dataset to analyze eruption and landslides cycles, improve understanding of magmatic evolution as well as offshore sedimentation processes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Origin of high Mg and SO 4 fluids in sediments of the Terceira Rift, Azores – indications for caminite dissolution in a waning hydrothermal system

During R/V Meteor cruise 141/1, pore fluids of near surface sediments were investigated to find indications for hydrothermal activity in the Terceira Rift (TR), a hyper‐slow spreading center in the Central North Atlantic Ocean. To date, submarine hydrothermal fluid venting in the TR has only been reported for the D. João de Castro seamount, which presently seems to be inactive. Pore fluids sampled close to a volcanic cone at 2800 m water depth show an anomalous composition with Mg, SO4, and total alkalinity (TA) concentrations significantly higher than seawater and a nearby reference core. The most straightforward way of interpreting these deviations is the dissolution of the hydrothermally formed mineral caminite (MgSO4 0.25Mg(OH)2 0.2H2O). This interpretation is corroborated by a thorough investigation of fluid isotope systems (δ26Mg, δ30Si, δ34S, δ44/42Ca, and 87Sr/86Sr). Caminite is known from mineral assemblages with anhydrite, and forms in hydrothermal recharge zones only under specific conditions such as high fluid temperatures and in altered oceanic crust, which are conditions generally met at the TR. We hypothesize that caminite was formed during hydrothermal activity and is now dissolving during the waning state of the hydrothermal system, so that caminite mineralization is shifted out of its stability zone. Ongoing fluid circulation through the basement is transporting the geochemical signal via slow advection towards the seafloor

Reappraising Sexual Coevolution and the Sex Roles

Over recent decades, new ideas have radically altered how we see sex and reproduction. The implications of these ideas are still being explored, yielding intriguing discoveries

Conspicuous Female Ornamentation and Tests of Male Mate Preference in Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Sexual selection drives the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments in many animal species. Female ornamentation is now acknowledged also to be common but is generally less well understood. One example is the recently documented red female throat coloration in some threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations. Although female sticklebacks often exhibit a preference for red male throat coloration, the possibility of sexual selection on female coloration has been little studied. Using sequential and simultaneous mate choice trials, we examined male mate preferences for female throat color, as well as pelvic spine color and standard length, using wild-captured threespine sticklebacks from the Little Campbell River, British Columbia. In a multivariate analysis, we found no evidence for a population-level mate preference in males, suggesting the absence of directional sexual selection on these traits arising from male mate choice. Significant variation was detected among males in their preference functions, but this appeared to arise from differences in their mean responsiveness across mating trials and not from variation in the strength (i.e., slope) of their preference, suggesting the absence of individual-level preferences as well. When presented with conspecific intruder males, male response decreased as intruder red throat coloration increased, suggesting that males can discriminate color and other aspects of phenotype in our experiment and that males may use these traits in intrasexual interactions. The results presented here are the first to explicitly address male preference for female throat color in threespine sticklebacks.Open Access Publishing Fun

Azithromycin to Reduce Childhood Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa.

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that mass distribution of a broad-spectrum antibiotic agent to preschool children would reduce mortality in areas of sub-Saharan Africa that are currently far from meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. METHODS: In this cluster-randomized trial, we assigned communities in Malawi, Niger, and Tanzania to four twice-yearly mass distributions of either oral azithromycin (approximately 20 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo. Children 1 to 59 months of age were identified in twice-yearly censuses and were offered participation in the trial. Vital status was determined at subsequent censuses. The primary outcome was aggregate all-cause mortality; country-specific rates were assessed in prespecified subgroup analyses. RESULTS: A total of 1533 communities underwent randomization, 190,238 children were identified in the census at baseline, and 323,302 person-years were monitored. The mean (±SD) azithromycin and placebo coverage over the four twice-yearly distributions was 90.4±10.4%. The overall annual mortality rate was 14.6 deaths per 1000 person-years in communities that received azithromycin (9.1 in Malawi, 22.5 in Niger, and 5.4 in Tanzania) and 16.5 deaths per 1000 person-years in communities that received placebo (9.6 in Malawi, 27.5 in Niger, and 5.5 in Tanzania). Mortality was 13.5% lower overall (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.7 to 19.8) in communities that received azithromycin than in communities that received placebo (P<0.001); the rate was 5.7% lower in Malawi (95% CI, -9.7 to 18.9), 18.1% lower in Niger (95% CI, 10.0 to 25.5), and 3.4% lower in Tanzania (95% CI, -21.2 to 23.0). Children in the age group of 1 to 5 months had the greatest effect from azithromycin (24.9% lower mortality than that with placebo; 95% CI, 10.6 to 37.0). Serious adverse events occurring within a week after administration of the trial drug or placebo were uncommon, and the rate did not differ significantly between the groups. Evaluation of selection for antibiotic resistance is ongoing. CONCLUSIONS: Among postneonatal, preschool children in sub-Saharan Africa, childhood mortality was lower in communities randomly assigned to mass distribution of azithromycin than in those assigned to placebo, with the largest effect seen in Niger. Any implementation of a policy of mass distribution would need to strongly consider the potential effect of such a strategy on antibiotic resistance. (Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; MORDOR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02047981 .)