A new parameter describing fertility in rabbits at the farm level: the kit index

The kit index (KI) combines the kindling rate (KR) and the average litter size (LS) per group of does, per breeding round, per year, or per farm and represents the number of total or live-born kits per 100 inseminated does. The KR is the percentage of kindlings per number of inseminated does. Mathematically, the KI is the product of the KR multiplied by the average LS. The KI was calculated on the basis of 12&thinsp;730 inseminated does and 89 864 live-born kits from one rabbit farm during a 25-month period from 2015 to 2017. The average KR was 70.1±9.1&thinsp;% with a minimum (per breeding round) of 35.4&thinsp;% and a maximum of 90.8&thinsp;%. The average LS of total kits born was 9.16±0.91, whilst the average litter size of live-born kits was 8.87±0.90. The KI of total kits born was calculated to be 649± 121 kits per 100 inseminated does (min of 332, max of 971), while the KI of live-born kits ranged between 326 and 944 kits per 100 inseminated does (mean of 626±122). The KI is a normally distributed parameter with respect to both the total kits born and the live-born kits per 100 inseminated does. All three parameters (KR, LS, and KI) were characterized by large variations from week to week with a tendency toward a reduction in the summer months. No difference was found between the two housing units, but large differences were found between the two genetic strains used on the given farm. Therefore, it can be concluded that the KI is able to characterize the complex fertility situation on the given rabbit farm. The KI can be used to demonstrate and to solve problems regarding artificial insemination, in addition to general issues with insemination management.</p

Henri Brochet et le R.P. Émile Legault, c.s.c. : rencontre et correspondance

Cet article propose l’édition de 16 lettres qu’échangèrent le R.P. Émile Legault, c.s.c., et Henri Brochet, entre le 31 janvier 1938 et le 4 mai 1946. Ces lettres nous fournissent des renseignements intéressants sur le séjour d’Émile Legault en France, au lendemain de la visite de Henri Ghéon à Montréal, et sur les débuts des Compagnons de Saint-Laurent . Auteur prolifique de pièces de théâtre chrétien, acteur, metteur en scène, directeur des Compagnons de Jeux — dont s’inspirent les Compagnons de Saint-Laurent —, et ami de Henri Ghéon, Henri Brochet était aussi le fondateur de la revue Jeux, Tréteaux et Personnages, dont le premier numéro parut le 15 octobre 1930 et qu’il dirigea jusqu’à la fin.This article proposes the edition of 16 letters exchanged between Father Émile Legault, CSC, and Henri Brochet from January 31, 1938 to May 4, 1946. These letters offer interesting details on Émile Legault’s sojourn in France following the visit of Henri Ghéon to Montreal and on the beginnings of the Compagnons de Saint-Laurent. A prolific author of Christian plays, an actor, producer and director of the Compagnons de Jeux—which inspired the Compagnons de Saint-Laurent—and a friend of Henri Ghéon, Henri Brochet was also the founder of the journal Jeux, Tréteaux et Personnages, the first issue of which was published October 15, 1930 and which he edited until his death

The GRAVITY integrated optics beam combination

International audienc

A triple-star system with a misaligned and warped circumstellar disk shaped by disk tearing

Young stars are surrounded by a circumstellar disk of gas and dust, within which planet formation can occur. Gravitational forces in multiple star systems can disrupt the disk. Theoretical models predict that if the disk is misaligned with the orbital plane of the stars, the disk should warp and break into precessing rings, a phenomenon known as disk tearing. We present observations of the triple-star system GW Orionis, finding evidence for disk tearing. Our images show an eccentric ring that is misaligned with the orbital planes and the outer disk. The ring casts shadows on a strongly warped intermediate region of the disk. If planets can form within the warped disk, disk tearing could provide a mechanism for forming wide-separation planets on oblique orbits.status: publishe