High-Excitation Hole States in the (p,d) Reaction

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant PHY 76-84033 and Indiana Universit

Magnetic Spectrometer for the IUCF Cooler

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY-931478

High-Excitation Hole States in the 24-Mg(p,d) Reaction

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grants PHY 76-84033A01, PHY 78-22774, and Indiana Universit

High Excitation Hole States in the (p,d) Reaction

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant PHY 75-00289 and Indiana Universit

Interactions between nutritional and opioidergic pathways in the control of LH secretion in male sheep

Our aim was to determine the role of opioidergic processes in the effects of nutrition on the secretion of LH pulses in the mature male sheep. In the first of three experiments, adult Merino rams were acclimatised to a maintenance diet and then allocated to one of three dietary groups (n = 5): continuation of the maintenance diet (Group M); reduction to half of the maintenance allocation (Group HM); or supplementation of the maintenance diet with lupin grain (Group HD). An initial administration of naloxone (2 mg/kg body weight, i.v.) was followed at 40-min intervals by three further administrations (1 mg/kg). Blood was sampled every 20 min for 12 h before the initial naloxone administration and then for a further 6 h. LH pulse frequency after naloxone treatment was significantly higher in Group HD than in Group HM (P < 0.05). The second study tested whether the response to naloxone depended on calcium status. We used 22 adult Merino rams in two consecutive experiments, one in which the rams were fed a maintenance diet, and one in which the rams were fed with the maintenance diet plus 1 kg lupin grain for 5 weeks. In both experiments, rams were allocated to groups that received one of the following treatments: (a) 0.02 g/kg calcium borogluconate + 0.2 mg/kg naloxone hydrochloride (Nal + Ca2+; n = 6); (b) 0.2 mg/kg naloxone hydrochloride (Nal; n = 6); (c) 0.02 g/kg calcium borogluconate (Ca2+; n = 5); (d) 0.1 ml/kg NaCl 0.9% (Saline; n = 5). All treatments were given as a single i.v. administration daily for 5 days. Blood was sampled every 20 min for 24 h during the acclimatization period (Day 0) and on the last day (Day 5) of treatment. In the first study (under maintenance), none of the treatments affected LH pulse frequency. In the second study (the lupin-supplemented rams), LH pulse frequency was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by the administration of naloxone + Ca2+, naloxone alone and Ca2+ alone. Overall, rams on a low plane of nutrition showed the smallest response to naloxone, suggesting that an opioidergic mechanism is not involved in the suppressive effect of restricted nutrition on the gonadotrophic axis. Rather, because testosterone secretion was increased on the high plane of nutrition, the LH responses to naloxone are better explained by the effects of testosterone on opioidergic mechanisms. Finally, we failed to observe any interaction between opioids and calcium in the control of LH secretion

Neonatal oxytocin administration and weaning onto a gruel based diet reduce weight loss at weaning and enhance gastric leptin expression

Administering oxytocin to neonatal rats has positive long-term effects on growth and development (Uvnas-Moberg and Petersson, 2005). These effects include a reduction in the stress response to weaning, increased post-weaning feed intake and alterations in the expression of gastrointestinal (GI) hormones regulating feed intake (Uvnas-Moberg et al., 1998; Sohlstrom et al., 1999). Two GI hormones of importance in regulating feed intake are ghrelin and leptin, which have antagonistic actions. Ghrelin expression is increased in response to fasting and leptin expression increases rapidly in response to feed intake. Since weaning the piglet is associated with stress and growth restriction, this study examined whether oxytocin given to young pigs could reduce the extent of the post-weaning growth check, along with any associated changes in ghrelin and leptin expression

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans accurately predict differing body fat content in live sheep

Background There is considerable interest in implementing mobile scanning technology for on-farm body composition analysis on live animals. These experiments evaluated the use of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as an accurate method of total body fat measurement in live sheep. Results In Exp. 1, visceral and whole body fat analysis was undertaken in sheep with body condition scores (BCS) in the range 2 to 3.25 (scale 1: thin to 5: fat). The relationship of BCS was moderately correlated with visceral fat depot mass (r = 0.59, P  0.05, n = 9). There was a moderate correlation between DXA body fat and BCS (r = 0.70, P < 0.01, n = 17), and DXA body fat was highly correlated with chemical body fat (r = 0.81, P < 0.001, n = 9). In Exp. 3, a series of five DXA scans, at 8-week intervals, was performed on growing sheep over a 32-week period. The average BCS ranged from 2.39 ± 0.07 (S.E.M.) to 3.05 ± 0.11 and the DXA body fat (%) ranged from 16.8 ± 0.8 to 24.2 ± 1.2. There was a moderate correlation between DXA body fat and BCS over the 32 weeks (r = 0.61, P < 0.001, n = 24). Conclusions Overall, these experiments indicated that there was good agreement between BCS, DXA and chemical analysis for measuring total body fat in sheep, and that DXA scanning is a valid method for longitudinal measurement of total body fat in live sheep

Immunisation against gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) reduces agonistic behaviours in male rangeland goats

Rangeland goat bucks were used to evaluate the efficacy of a commercially available anti-gonadotrophin-releasing hormone vaccine, Improvac (Zoetis Australia, West Ryde, NSW, Australia). The hypothesis tested was that immunisation would suppress testosterone secretion by the testis and agonistic behaviour between male goats. We also compared intervals of 2 and 4 weeks between primary and booster immunisations and monitored responses over a 2-month period. The 45 goats were split into three groups (n = 15): one group receiving the vaccination booster on Day 14, one group receiving the vaccination booster on Day 28, and the Control group receiving sterile saline injections. Body mass, body condition score and scrotal circumference were measured fortnightly, and blood was collected at 2-week intervals and analysed for testosterone concentration. Behavioural interaction tests of 2-min duration were also conducted fortnightly. There was a significant decrease in paired testicular circumference (P < 0.05) and testosterone concentration (P < 0.01) in both vaccination groups by the end of the experiment at Day 60, compared with the Control group. Agonistic interactions measured at Day 60 were significantly reduced in both vaccination groups (P < 0.05) compared with the Control group. These results support the efficacy of Improvac in reducing agonistic behaviours in rangeland goat bucks and suggest that the use of the vaccine may assist in reducing social stress and possible injury in groups of confined male goats

Deep Hole States in the Mirror Nuclei 23-Mg and 23-Na

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant PHY 76-84033 and Indiana Universit