Sheep and goats differ in diet selection, which may reflect different abilities to deal with the ingestion of plant secondary metabolites. Although saliva provides a basis for immediate oral information via sensory cues and also a mechanism for detoxification, our understanding of the role of saliva in the pre-gastric control of the intake of herbivores is rudimentary. Salivary proteins have important biological functions, but despite their significance, their expression patterns in sheep and goats have been little studied. Protein separation techniques coupled to mass spectrometry based techniques have been used to obtain an extensive comprehension of human saliva protein composition but far fewer studies have been undertaken on animals' saliva. We used twodimensional electrophoresis gel analysis to compare sheep and goats parotid saliva proteome. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were used to identify proteins. From a total of 260 sheep and 205 goat saliva protein spots, 117 and 106 were identified, respectively. A high proportion of serum proteins were found in both salivary protein profiles. Major differences between the two species were detected for proteins within the range of 25-35 kDa. This study presents the parotid saliva proteome of sheep and goat and highlights the potential of proteomics for investigation relating to intake behavior research.

This in vivo study presents the preliminary results of the use of a novel piezoelectric actuator for orthopedic application. The innovative use of the converse piezoelectric effect to mechanically stimulate bone was achieved with polyvinylidene fluoride actuators implanted in osteotomy cuts in sheep femur and tibia. The biological response around the osteotomies was assessed through histology and histomorphometry in nondecalcified sections and histochemistry and immunohistochemistry in decalcified sections, namely, through Masson's trichrome, and labeling of osteopontin, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. After one-month implantation, total bone area and new bone area were significantly higher around actuators when compared to static controls. Bone deposition rate was also significantly higher in the mechanically stimulated areas. In these areas, osteopontin increased expression was observed. The present in vivo study suggests that piezoelectric materials and the converse piezoelectric effect may be used to effectively stimulate bone growth.

Saliva provides a medium for short-term adaptation to changes in diet composition, namely, the presence of plant secondary metabolites. Salivary proteins have biological functions that have particular influence on oral homeostasis, taste, and digestive function. Some salivary proteins, such as proline-rich proteins, are present in browsers but absent in grazers. Despite the significance of salivary proteins, their expression patterns in many herbivores are unknown. We investigated the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profile of parotid salivary proteins from two domesticated species, one a grazer, the sheep, Ovis aries, and the other a mixed feeder, the goat, Capra hircus, both fed on the same conventional diet. With 12.5% polyacrylamide linear gels, we observed uniform patterns of salivary proteins within the two species. In the goat profile, 21 major bands were observed, and 19 in the sheep profile. Each band was subjected to peptide mass fingerprinting for purposes of identification, allowing for 16 successful protein identifications. Marked differences were observed between the species in the region of 25-35 kDa molecular weights: one band was present in significantly different intensities; three bands were present only in goats; and one band was present only in sheep. This is the first report of a comparison of the protein salivary composition of sheep and goats and suggests that future research should be conducted to reveal a physiological function for salivary proteins related to the differences in feeding behavior of these species.

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The accuracy of transrectal real-time ultrasonography (RTU) scanning technique to detect ovarian structures (follicles and corpus luteum) of Serrana goats was compared to the data obtained by observation of ovarian sequential slices. This slicing technique (SLI) was considered as reference method. The laparoscopy and laparotomy techniques were also used for corpora lutea identification. For this purpose the ovaries of 14 females were observed, 7-8 days after ovulation, by transrectal ultrasonography followed by laparoscopic examination. Then ovaries were removed and studied by slicing. In the sliced sections of each ovary (n = 28), follicles and corpus luteum (CL) were identified and counted. CL and follicular diameters were measured using a millimetre scale.The total number of follicles, counted by RTU, was significantly lower than that observed by SLI (P < 0.01). This difference was mainly due to the under estimation of <2 mm follicles category. The correlation coefficient between category data obtained by RTU and SLI methods for the number of follicles ≥3 mm was high (r 2 = 0.95, P < 0.001), which highlights the use of UTR as a potential methodology to study the follicular dynamic of goats.There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between the average number (mean ± S.D.) of corpus luteum identified per ovary by RTU (0.71 ± 0.75), laparoscopy (0.58 ± 0.71), laparotomy (0.67 ± 0.76) or SLI (0.83 ± 0.76) methods. The accuracy for the identification of ovulation, validated by CL detection on D7-D8 by SLI (100%), was 91.7%, 87.5% and 83.3% by RTU, laparotomy and laparoscopy, respectively. The negative predictive value of RTU, laparotomy and * Corresponding author. E-mail address: jsimoes@utad.pt (J. Simões). Simões et al. / Animal Reproduction Science 85 (2005) [263][264][265][266][267][268][269][270][271][272][273] laparoscopy to verify the absence of a CL in the ovary was 81.8%, 75.0% and 69.2%, respectively. The specificity of all three methods for the CL identification was 100%. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were found in the probability to detect the exact number of CL (0, 1 or 2) counted in each ovary between the RTU (87.5%), laparotomy (83.3%) and laparoscopy (75.0%) methods when compared with the reference method. 0378-The diameter of spherical CL could be estimated with reliability (r 2 = 0.86; P < 0.001). The real-time ultrasonographic scanning proved to be a highly accurate method for detection and measurement of several categories of follicles and CL size in Serrana goats. The results of the present study show that laparoscopy and RTU are similarly reliable techniques for CL detection. However, the RTU represents a non-traumatic technique with advantages to animal welfare both in experimental and reproductive evaluation of the size of ovarian structures.