Summary. The development of a sensitive enzyme-immunoassay for 20\g=a\-dihydroprogesterone (20\g=a\-DHP) and its use in determining reproductive status in black and white rhinoceroses is reported. 20\g=a\-DHP in hydrolysed urine diluted in parallel to standards, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) confirmed the presence of 20\ g=a\ \ x=r eq-\ DHP and the absence of pregnanediol-3\g=a\-glucuronide(PdG) in urine collected from rhinoceroses after oestrus. Conjugated oestrone was identified by HPLC as the major urinary oestrogen in the black rhineroceros and conjugated oestradiol-17\g=b\ was the most abundant in the white rhinoceros. In African species, the black (Diceros bicornis), and northern (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) and southern (Ceratotherium simum simum) white rhinoceroses, excretion of 20\g=a\-DHP and oestrogen followed a cyclic pattern. Excretion of 20\g=a\-DHP was low before mating, at the time of peak oestrogen excretion, but high after oestrus. In the black rhinoceros, the follicular phase was 3\ p=n-\ 4 days and the luteal phase was 18 days, suggesting a cycle of 21\p=n-\22 days. The interoestrus interval in the northern subspecies of white rhinoceros was 25 days, which correlated well with the interval between peaks of oestradiol-17\g=b\ excretion. The interval between urinary oestrogen peaks in the southern subspecies of white rhinoceros suggested a cycle length of 32 days. This paper provides the first description of the pattern of excretion of urinary oestrogens and progesterone metabolites in African rhinoceroses.

A non-invasive study of urinary hormones in 6 captive female Goeldi's monkeys provided accurate information on reproductive function. Conjugated oestrone accounted for 80-85% of the urinary oestrone and oestradiol measured. Radioimmunoassay measurements of conjugated oestrone provided a reliable indicator of cyclic ovarian function (mean cycle length: 24.1 +/- 0.9 days; n = 9) and pregnancy (gestation: 145, 155 days; n = 2). Measurements of urinary progesterone and pregnanediol glucuronide were only reliable as indicators of ovarian cyclicity. Elevations in urinary conjugated oestrone coincided with luteal-phase elevations of urinary progesterone and pregnanediol glucuronide. Urinary LH concentrations provided no indication of pituitary activity. However, the frequencies of female sexual solicitations of males were maximal when oestrone conjugate concentrations rose, suggesting a peri-ovulatory period. Ovulation was suppressed in 1 of 3 subordinate females housed in male-female-female trios.

14C-Labelled oestradiol-17 beta and progesterone (50 mu Ci each) were injected i.v. into an adult female white rhinoceros and all urine and faeces collected separately over the next 4 days. The total recovery of injected label was 61%, 25% being present in the urine and 36% in the faeces. Of the radioactivity recovered, 69% was excreted on Day 2 of the collection period. Repeated extraction of samples obtained on Day 2 showed that, of the radioactivity in faeces, 92.4% was associated with unconjugated steroids whereas in the urine the proportion of conjugated and unconjugated steroids were similar (41.2% and 51.4% respectively). After phenolic separation of urinary steroids, HPLC followed by derivatization and recrystallization techniques identified progesterone as the major component of the unconjugated portion with 4-pregnen-20 alpha-ol-3-one as the principal metabolite in the conjugated fraction. Pregnanediol was not present. Oestrone appeared to be the most abundant oestrogen metabolite with smaller but significant amounts of oestradiol-17 beta and oestradiol-17 alpha in the unconjugated and conjugated fractions respectively. Small amounts of progesterone were found in the faecal extract in which the radioactivity consisted mainly of oestradiol-17 alpha and oestradiol-17 beta. The results have established the major excreted metabolites of oestradiol-17 beta and progesterone in the white rhinoceros and the development of more appropriate assay methods for monitoring ovarian function in African rhinoceroses should now be possible.

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Although manometric antral hypomotility and delayed gastric emptying have been reported separately in patients with dyspepsia, relationships between symptoms, antral contractility and emptying rate have not been sought. The present study therefore aimed to evaluate, simultaneously, gastric antral excursion characteristics and emptying in a sub-group of patients with severe functional dyspepsia using high-resolution real-time ultrasound. The circumference of the relaxed and contracted antrum was measured at 15-min intervals after ingestion of a 360 mL mixed nutrient meal in 36 chronic dyspepsia patients with symptoms of post-prandial bloating and epigastric distension, and in 25 healthy volunteers. Antral emptying (measured as the rate of decrease in circumference of the relaxed antrum) was slower in patients than normals (P = 0.02). In both groups, the average values for antral excursion were similar but the range of excursion in patients was significantly wider than in controls (F < 0.001), with 11 patients showing values above, and 8 showing values below the normal range. There was no relationship between antral emptying and antral excursion in either patients or volunteers. In conclusion, patients with severe functional dyspepsia show a wide range of antral performance characteristics, suggesting not only that the mechanisms responsible for the control of antral motor function are disturbed but also that the cause of the symptoms and the disturbed antral motor function are probably not directly related.