We have investigated the reproductive development of the tropically adapted Santa Inês ram, the most common hair sheep in Brazil. From 8 to 48 weeks of age, 16 animals were evaluated for body and testis growth, semen parameters, testosterone concentrations and seminal plasma proteins, using two-dimensional SDS-PAGE. Animals were weaned at 30 days and kept in feedlots thereafter, receiving hay, concentrate (18% of crude protein) and mineral supplement. Body weight increased from 12.3 +/- 0.7 to 54.3 +/- 1.6 kg between 8 and 48 weeks (p < 0.05), but changes in thoracic perimeter and scrotal circumference were non-significant after 36 weeks (p > 0.05). The percentage of motile sperm increased slowly until 23 weeks and more rapidly after that age, but significant changes in progressive motility occurred after 25 weeks. Presence of abnormal sperm related inversely to age. Most significant changes in sperm concentration occurred between 38 and 44 weeks (0.38 +/- 0.05 to 1.14 +/- 0.24 x 10(9) cells/ml, p < 0.05) and testosterone reached its highest concentrations at 42 weeks, decreasing afterwards. Rams reached puberty at 28.2 +/- 0.8 weeks. The number of protein spots on seminal plasma gels was similar from 15 to 18 weeks (45 and 47 spots; p > 0.05), increased until 24 weeks (141 spots) and 28 weeks (170 spots; p < 0.05) and remained without significant (p > 0.05) changes from 28 to 48 weeks (186 +/- 10 spots). Furthermore, the intensity of selected spots on 2D maps increased (p < 0.05) between 15 and 28 weeks, which preceded or coincided with the main developmental changes in sperm motility and percentage of defective sperm in the ejaculates. These results will support future studies designed to characterize specific seminal plasma proteins whose expression relate to the development of testis, epididymis and accessory sex glands.

Introduction Septic patients frequently develop critical illness myopathies (CIMs) that may represent a crucial factor for prolonged intensive care unit treatment and for ventilator weaning delay. Experimental fi ndings have identifi ed that oxidative stress plays a role in causing muscle depletion in chronic pathological states like sepsis. It is well documented that regular moderate physical exercise can decreased oxidative stress and enhance antioxidant functions. Objective To investigate whether exercise training reduces oxidative damage in septic rats induced by cecal ligation and perforation (CLP). Methods Wistar rats were randomly assigned to three groups: Sham (submitted to a fake surgery), CLP, and CLP that was previously trained (CLPT). The exercise training protocol consisted of 8 weeks of running on a treadmill, 5 days/week, for 60 minutes at 60% of the maximal running speed obtained on the graded treadmill test. Rats were subjected to CLP surgery; after 120 hours of surgical procedure they were killed by decapitation. Oxidative damage of lipids (thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS)) and proteins (carbonyl groups) were analyzed in Soleus (type I fi ber) and plantaris (type II fi ber) muscles. Results See Table 1.