Abstract Aim: The present study was performed in order to characterize and compare the perfusion of vaginal and uterine arteries after challenging the reproductive tract of dairy cows via natural mating, artificial insemination (AI), or intravaginal deposition (vaginal fundus) of different biological fluids or a placebo. Material and methods: In a double-blind study, six German Holstein cows were administered PGF2α during diestrus and 48 h later treated with GnRH. Intravaginal or intrauterine treatments were carried out 12 h after GnRH was administered. Animals served as their own controls, using a cross-over design with an interval of 14 days between experiments. Corresponding time intervals were chosen for the untreated control estrus. Blood flow volume (BFV) in the uterine (u) and vaginal (v) arteries ipsilateral to the ovary bearing the preovulatory follicle was determined using transrectal Doppler sonography. Results: All animals exhibited estrus and ovulated between 30 h and 36 h after GnRH. Transient increases (P < 0.05) in vaginal blood flow occurred between 3 and 12 h following mating as well as 3 to 9 h after deposition of raw semen and seminal plasma, respectively. The most distinct increases (199%) in vBFV occurred 6 h after mating compared to values immediately before mating (= time 0 h). Neither AI nor deposition of a placebo into the vagina affected vBFV (P>0.05). Only mating and deposition of either raw semen, seminal plasma or AI increased (P<0.0.003) UBFV. The greatest rise in uBFV occurred after natural mating. Maximum uBFV values were detected 9 h after mating when values were 79 % greater (P < 0.05) than at 0h. Conclusions: The natural mating, deposition of raw semen or seminal plasma and conventional AI affects vaginal and/ or uterine blood flow to different degrees. The factors responsible for these alterations in blood flow and their effects on fertility remain to be clarified in future studies.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate accuracy of transabdominal ultrasonography for pregnancy diagnosis, determination of fetal number and estimation of gestational age in ewes. A total of 1068 ewes from 8 different flocks (Swiss White Alpine n=379, Swiss Black- Brown Mountain n=189, Oxford-type n=164, Ostfriesian n=154, Texel n=104, Lacaune × Osfriesian crossbred n=78) was investigated using an Ovi-ScanTM ultrasound scanner with a 3.5 MHz 170° mechanical axial probe (BCF Technology Ltd., Bellshill, Great Britain). Scanning was performed transabdominally at the right inguinal region in ewes restrained in standing position. Sonographic findings were compared with lambing data recorded by the farmers. Included in the analysis were all ewes that, at the time of examination, were not pregnant and those that were pregnant between 26 and 110 days with a known lambing date and number of lambs born (n=882). The sensitivity of pregnancy diagnosis was 97.8% and the specificity 97.6% (overall accuracy 97.8%, n=853). Sensitivity and specificity for discrimination between single and multiple pregnancies was 95.8% and 90.5% (overall accuracy 93.9%, n=752), respectively, when multiples were defined as positive. Discrimination between twins and triplets reached a sensitivity of 86.0% and a specificity of 99.5% (overall accuracy 98.0%, n=458) when triplets were defined as positive. Considering a gestation period of 150 days, the mean deviation of the estimated to the effective day of gestation at examination was 5.6±5.0 days (n=781). The correlation between estimated and true gestational age was very high (r=0.936, P<0.0001). In conclusion, a highly accurate and efficient diagnosis of pregnancy with reliable estimation of fetal number and age is possible using an Ovi- ScanTM ultrasound scanner by an experienced examiner.
In this study, effect of acupuncture (AP) on the luteal size (LS), luteal blood flow (LBF) and progesterone (P4) levels were investigated in the presence of corpus luteum (CL) in cows.Seven days after 14-days interval PGF2α estrus synchronization protocol, CL positive animals were assigned either to a control group (AP-, n=10) or to an AP group (AP+, n=10) stimulated by using B22 and B23 sensitive acupoints.LS and LBF examinations were carried out before the stimulation (0h) and at 1st, 3rd, 6th hour on d7 and thereafter on d9, d10, d11, d12 and d13 following the AP stimulation in each group with a portable color Doppler ultrasonography.Blood samples for P4 measurement were collected during each examination.There was no significant difference in LS, LBF, or P4 mean values between groups.However, LBF significantly increased at 6h after stimulation (P<0.05) in AP+ group but it increased at d11 in AP-group (P<0.05).The significant increase in LS was observed earlier in AP+ group (on d9; P<0.01) than AP-(on d11; P<0.05).Serum P4 concentrations increased at 3h, d9 and d10 in AP+ group (P<0.05),however a significant difference was only observed at 3h in AP-group (P<0.05).In conclusion, AP stimulation induces earlier increases in LS, LBF and P4 parameters in cows during luteal phase.
Sperm viability is routinely assessed for the quality control of cryopreserved bovine sperm batches but is not usually conclusive regarding their fertilizing potential. In this study, we investigated the fertility predictive value of bull sperm viability in combination with DNA integrity or the functional status of viable sperm. In addition to sperm viability, we flow cytometrically assessed the percentage of sperm with high DNA fragmentation index (%DFI) and the fraction of viable sperm with low intracellular Ca2+ content and functional mitochondria using the Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay and a five-color staining panel in 791 and 733 cryopreserved batches with non-return rate (NRR) records after ≥100 first services, respectively. Using linear mixed-effects models and conditional inference trees, we examined the potential of sperm viability combined with either DNA integrity or the functional status of viable sperm to predict the batch-specific NRR. Batches with a %DFI of ≤6.86% were more likely to have a NRR of >60%, whereas %DFI values of >6.86% were more likely to be associated with a 55–60% or lower NRR. Combining post-thaw viability with the functional status of viable sperm did not reliably predict the NRR of individual batches. Concluding, the incorporation of DNA integrity assessment can considerably improve sperm fertility prognostics.
