No abstract

Advanced mare age predisposes to chromosome misalignment on the metaphase II spindle of IVM oocytes. The compromised ability to correctly align chromosomes presumably predisposes to aneuploidy in resulting embryos and thereby contributes to the age-related decline in fertility and increased incidence of early pregnancy loss. The Summary is available in Portuguese - see Supporting Information.

hematological parameters in healthy goats show several variations in relation to breed, age, reproductive status, environmental factors and management conditions. therefore, there is the need to investigate these factors and how they affect the animal's hematology. the aims of this study were to establish hematological reference values of five Italian goat breeds at different age classes (1-2, 3-4 and over 5 years) considered in autumn and to evaluate the effects of some factors (breed, age and environmental conditions). ninety-six dried female aspromontana goats, 102 girgentana goats, 99 messinese goats, 96 maltese goats and 108 argentata dell'etna goats, clinically healthy, were used. blood samples were collected from each animal and analyzed for red blood cell (rbc), White blood cell (Wbc), hemoglobin concentration (hb), hematocrit (hct), mean corpuscular Volume (mcV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (mch), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (mchc) and platelets (plt). statistical analysis showed the effect of breed (p<0.05) on all studied parameters and the effect of age (p<0.05) on: rbc and hb in messinese goats; hct in girgentana, maltese and argentata dell'etna goats; mcV and mchc in argentata dell'etna goats; WBC in Aspromontana goats; and PLT in Girgentana and Messinese goats. The findings of the present study may serve as reference values for hematology of italian goat breeds studied in autumn which could help veterinarians to interpret laboratory data appropriately and to monitor animal health status in order to improve the management and conservation of these breeds. Key words: goats, age, breed, hematological parameters, reference intervalsHematological tests are important tools for evaluation of physiological and health status of farm animals and almost indispensable in organic farming, where permitted veterinary interventions are strictly regulated and limited in scope. Hematological analyses in farm animals have been extensively discussed as an essential part of clinical examination often pointing to a specific differential diagnosis or suggesting a prognosis (Braun et al

In this study, the presence of Leishmania DNA and blood feeding sources in phlebotomine sand fly species commonly present in Sicily were investigated. A total of 1,866 female sand flies including 176 blood fed specimens were sampled over two seasons in five selected sites in Sicily (southern Italy). Sergentomyia minuta (n = 1,264) and Phlebotomus perniciousus (n = 594) were the most abundant species at all the sites, while three other species from the genus Phlebotomus (i.e., P. sergenti n = 4, P. perfiliewi n = 3 and P. neglectus n = 1) were only sporadically captured. Twenty-eight out of the 1,866 (1.5%) sand flies tested positive for Leishmania spp. Leishmania tarentolae DNA was identified in 26 specimens of S. minuta, while the DNA of Leishmania donovani complex was detected in a single specimen each of S. minuta and P. perniciosus. Interestingly, seven S. minuta specimens (0.4%) tested positive for reptilian Trypanosoma sp. Blood sources were successfully identified in 108 out of 176 blood fed females. Twenty-seven out of 82 blood sources identified in fed females of P. perniciosus were represented by blood of wild rabbit, S. minuta mainly fed on humans (16/25), while the sole P. sergenti fed specimen took a blood meal on rat. Other vertebrate hosts including horse, goat, pig, dog, chicken, cow, cat and donkey were recognized as blood sources for P. perniciosus and S. minuta, and, surprisingly, no reptilian blood was identified in blood-fed S. minuta specimens. Results of this study agree with the well-known role of P. perniciosus as vector of L. infantum in the western Mediterranean; also, vector feeding preferences herein described support the hypothesis on the involvement of lagomorphs as sylvatic reservoirs of Leishmania. The detection of L. donovani complex in S. minuta, together with the anthropophilic feeding-behaviour herein observed, warrants further research to clarify the capacity of this species in the transmission of pathogens to humans and other animals.