RESUMO: O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a influência da gordura protegida sobre o ganho de peso e o perfil metabólico sanguíneo de cordeiros. Utilizou-se 14 cordeiros da raça Santa Inês do desmame até os 174 dias de idade, sendo utilizado o delineamento inteiramente casualizado com sete repetições (animais), dois tratamentos (dieta com e sem gordura protegida) e dois tempos de coleta de dados (início e final). As análises bioquímicas incluíram a determinação da glicose, ureia, triglicerídeos e colesterol. A gordura protegida na proporção de 5% na dieta não promoveu efeito positivo sobre o ganho de peso. A glicose não apresentou variação e os triglicerídeos variaram igualmente nos grupos devido a modificações fisiológicas da espécie. A ureia plasmática foi um bom indicador metabólico dos valores energéticos e o colesterol do aporte lipídico na dieta. A gordura protegida na proporção de 5% na dieta não promoveu efeito positivo sobre o ganho de peso. A inclusão de gordura protegida foi mais eficiente do ponto de vista metabólico comparado ao grupo sem o suplemento. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: bioquímica, desempenho, megalac®, ovino.

The study aimed to evaluate the reproductive, metabolic and hormonal profiles of Santa Inês ewes during winter and summer in the tropical climate of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The ewes (n = 16) were prepared for induction of synchronised oestrus with a short-term hormonal treatment, and follicular dynamics were assessed with ultrasonography. Blood samples for biochemical and hormonal analyses were collected on days zero, six and eight of the protocol at 7, 13 and 19 h. Reproductive behaviour did not differ (P > 0.05) between seasons. Based on ultrasonography data, the ovulation rate was 100% in summer and 81.3% in winter. Most of the ewes showed double ovulation in summer, and the diameter of the largest and second largest follicles differed (P < 0.05) between seasons. Among the biochemical parameters, plasma glucose, plasma urea and serum albumin differed (P < 0.05) between the study periods. Regarding the hormonal profile, higher serum triiodothyronine, thyroxine and prolactin concentrations (P < 0.05) were observed in summer. The average progesterone concentrations demonstrated low reproductive seasonality. In conclusion, the reproductive performance of the ewes was superior in summer, and higher levels of plasma glucose and serum albumin during this season may have played a role in the observed ovulation rates. The higher levels of serum prolactin and serum thyroxine in summer demonstrated that these compounds were not involved in the regulatory mechanisms underlying the onset of anoestrus in these Santa Inês ewes under tropical conditions.

Postoperative care and long-term follow-up after a rostral mandibulectomy to treat an ossifying fibroma in a horse.Ciência Rural, v.47, n.11, 2017. An ossifying fibroma is a proliferative, fibro-osseous, tumor-like lesion that develops most commonly in the rostral mandible causing distortion of the lip and adjacent teeth. This neoplasia occurs more often in horses younger than one year of age (ROBBINS et al., 1996;SPONSELLER et al., 2006;CRIJNS et al., 2015), but has been reported in several other species (ROGERS & GOULD, 1998;McCAULEY et al., 2000). Unilateral rostral maxillectomy and bilateral rostral mandibulectomy (BRM) with adequate margins have been considered curative surgical procedures and the best approaches to treat this neoplasia (AUER, 2006;WITTE, 2014). Radiation alone has also been reported to be successful (ROBBINS et al., 1996) and may be helpful as an adjuvant therapy in cases of incomplete surgical resection (WITTE, 2014). Although, successful BRM has already been performed in horses and is described in the literature (AUER, 2006;SPONSELLER et al., 2006; DIXON & REARDON, 2015), these reports fail to mention any complications or the difficulty of the horse to adapt and feed properly after surgery. Therefore, this case report describes the postoperative care and long-term follow-up after BRM involved in the treatment of an ossifying fibroma in a horse.A 3-year-old crossbred horse, weighing 230kg, had a large mandibular mass evaluated. Medical records and information from the owner revealed that dogs had attacked the foal when he was 2 months old causing lacerations in the lips and gum, and complete CLINIC AND SURGERY

The aim of this study was to determine the intervals between sponge removal and the onset of estrus, sponge removal and the first detected ovulation, and onset of estrus and the first ovulation, and also to determine the duration of estrus, in superovulated Santa Inês ewes subjected to natural mating (NM) and AI. The trial was done in July and February at Cachoeiras de Macacu–Rio de Janeiro (22°27′S, 43°39′W). Fifteen non-pregnant Santa Inês ewes, age 3.4 ± 1.4 years, weighing 47.8 ± 6.3 kg, with 3.3 ± 0.4 body condition score (scale of 1 to 5), were randomly assigned to 2 groups. Both groups were superovulated using the same protocol and were mated in a crossover design by NM and laparoscopic AI. Estrus was synchronized using intravaginal sponges (60 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate; Progespon®, Schering Plough Animal Health, São Paulo, Brazil) inserted (Day 0) and maintained for 6 days. On Day 5, the ewes received IM injections of 300 IU of eCG (Novormon®, Schering Plough Animal Health) and 0.0375 mg of cloprostenol (Prolise®, Tecnopec, São Paulo, Brazil). Twelve hours after sponge removal, 0.025 mg of gonadorelin acetate (Gestran®, Tecnopec) was administered IM. Superovulation started 60 h after sponge removal and consisted of 5 IU kg–1 of porcine FSH (pFSH; Pluset®, Hertape Calier, Minas Gerais, Brazil) IM in 6 decreasing doses (25, 25, 15, 15, 10, and 10%) at 12-h intervals. At the first pFSH dose, new sponges were inserted. At the fifth pFSH dose, 0.0375 mg of cloprostenol was administered IM and the sponges were removed. After the sponge removal, the NM group was exposed to rams twice per day for mating, until the end of estrus. In the AI group, estrus was detected using a teaser with the penis diverted. The females were permitted to be mounted twice per day until the end of estrus, and were inseminated with frozen–thawed semen 24 and 36 h after the end of superovulation. The follicular development and ovulation time were observed using real-time ultrasonography (8.0 MHz Pie Medical®, Aquila Vet, Tokyo, Japan) at 12-h intervals. For statistical analysis, a Student’s t-test was performed (5% significance level) using the BioEstat program. Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation. The time from sponge removal to onset of estrus and the duration of estrus did not differ between NM and AI groups (31.79 ± 5.94 v. 25.25 ± 10.38 h and 29.89 ± 11.54 v. 26.66 ± 8.67 h, respectively). The time from sponge removal to ovulation and from onset of estrus to the first ovulation were shorter (P < 0.001) in the NM group (32.11 ± 12.72 v. 56.48 ± 15.39 h and 8.61 ± 5.99 v. 32.25 ± 18.57 h, respectively). The time from sponge removal to ovulation in July and February was 56.07 ± 7.27 versus 56.83 ± 20.72 in the AI group and 29.54 ± 0.56 versus 33.83 ± 19.02 in the NM group, respectively, suggesting that the season of the year in a tropical region did not influence the ovulation time for each treatment. Possibly, the mechanical stimulation induced by the contact of the penis with the vagina fornix and by the accessory sex glands fluids in mating hastened the ovulation time in the NM group. The service can shorten the time of ovulation.