The decrease in foaling rates after artificial insemination with cooled semen warrants the search for new predictors of fertility. The objectives were to investigate levels of naturally occurring reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cooled, stored stallion semen doses for artificial insemination (AI), and their relationship with parameters of semen quality and with pregnancy rate. Semen was collected from warmblood stallions (n = 15) and used to prepare commercial semen doses for AI. Sperm quality was evaluated after cooled transport to the laboratory overnight. The results were correlated with observed foaling and pregnancy rates. Hydroethidine and dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate were used as indicators for the ROS superoxide and hydrogen pero xide, respectively. Sperm morphology, motility, plasma membrane integrity and chromatin integrity were also evaluated. These variables were correlated with each other and with pregnancy rates. We found a high inter-individual variation in the ROS levels between stallions. The proportion of live, hydrogen peroxide-negative spermatozoa was correlated with progressive motility, whereas live hydrogen peroxide-negative spermatozoa and chromatin damage were negatively correlated, indicating that low levels of hydrogen peroxide were correlated with good chromatin integrity. The percentage of dead hydrogen peroxide-positive sperm was negatively related to the foaling rate. The negative relationships were stronger when combining results from both assays for ROS. These results for stored semen samples indicate that high individual variation exists for superoxide and hydrogen peroxide measurements, and that ROS status can influence sperm quality. Thus, ROS may be some of the factors influencing fertility. Moreover, combinations of ROS variables improved the correlation with fertility, indicating the usefulness of including these variables in a future model for prediction of the fertility of a semen sample.

The objective was to evaluate the accuracy of pregnancy scanning by transabdominal ultrasonography and affecting factors. Altogether 44,783 ewes were registered (2008-2010), 39,724 diagnosed as pregnant and subsequently lambed. The ewes, 0.5-14 years old, were divided into 4 age and 6 breed groups and analysed. The accuracy (per cent; number of scanned fetuses/number of born lambs) decreased with increasing number of fetuses (P < 0.001). Overall accuracy was 90.3 per cent, highest (93.7 per cent) in ewes carrying one fetus, 91.9 per cent, 82.4 per cent, and 74.9 per cent in ewes with 2, 3 and ≥4 fetuses at scanning, respectively. Finnsheep ewes with highest number of lambs showed lowest accuracy (P < 0.001). Analyses of a more complete sub set of data (n = 23,396), showed that number of fetuses diagnosed, breed, age of ewe, operator and time in gestation, significantly affected the accuracy. Accuracy decreased with age of ewe (P < 0.001) and was 71.8 per cent, 91.6 per cent and 89.3 per cent for scanning at <40, 40-80 and 81-100 days of gestation, respectively (P < 0.001). In general, the numbers of fetuses were overestimated at scanning and increased gradually with number of fetuses diagnosed. In conclusion, the accuracy was affected by several factors, which should be considered when interpreting/implementing the results, especially in breeds with high fecundity.

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Après l'épreuve infectante, les embryons vivants ont été lavés, broyés et mis en culture, ainsi que les liquides de lavage, en vue de la recherche de C. fetus.Après 48 heures d'incubation, on constate un effet de la durée de l'éoreuve infectante (p < 0.01) et un effet de la dose (p < 0.001) sur la survie embryon naire pour tous les embryons et pour les deux espèces bactériennes testées.Après lavage et broyage, aucun embryon n'était contaminé par Campylo bacter fetus.Mots clés : Transfert embryonnaire -Risques sanitaires -Ovim -Campylo bacter. SUMMARY EFFECTS OF CAMPYLOBACTER. FETUS IN VITR.O EXPERIMENTAL INFECTION OF MICE AND EWES EMBRYOSA total of 350 ZP-1, days 3-5 mice embryos were collected and sub divided as follows : 184 were exposed to C. fetus ss f etus compared to Laboratoire pour le Contrôle des Reproducteurs, UNCEIA, 13, rue Jouët, 94703 Maisons-Alfort cedex. 64 BULLETIN DE L'ACADÉMIE46 controls (non contaminated) and 182 exposed to C. fetus ss venerealis compared to 48 controls.. In addition, 164 ZP-1, day 6 sheep embryos were collected and conta minated with C. fetus ss fetus compared to 51 control embryos.The mice embryos were submitted for 48 hours at 37°C to a range of 0.01-100 ID50 and the sheep embryos to a range of 0.1-100 ID50• After 48 hours, the non-degenerated embryos were washed, homogeneized and then cultured simultaneously to the washing fluids for search of Campylobacter fetus.After 48 hours, a dose-eff ect on the survival rate of the embryos (p < 0.001) and a duration-effect (p < 0.01) of the contamination are shown both for mice and sheep embryos for the two species of Campylobacter fetus.No Campylobacter fetus either in mice or sheep were isolated in the last washing mediums nor in the homogeneized embryos.