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The freezing step of the cryopreservation protocol negatively influences the quality and fertilising ability of rabbit spermatozoa. This study determines the effect of different rates of freezing on the quality and fertilising ability of rabbit spermatozoa cryopreserved with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) (1.75M) and sucrose (0.05M). Ejaculates from meat rabbit line males (n=12) were pooled and each pool (n=7) was split into four aliquots. One group of straws (control, C) was frozen in static liquid nitrogen vapour (5cm above the liquid nitrogen, 10min) and the other groups were frozen at different freezing rates (degrees Cmin(-1)) from -6 degrees C to -100 degrees C using a programmable freezer: slow (-15 degrees Cmin(-1), S), medium (-40 degrees Cmin(-1), M) or fast (-60 degrees Cmin(-1), F). After thawing (50 degrees C, 12s), the quality was highest (P

The aim of this work was to examine how a pre-freezing treatment with cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrins (CLC) affects boar sperm longevity, capacitation dynamics, ability to bind to a porcine telomerase-immortalised oviductal epithelial cell line (TERT-OPEC) in vitro and DNA integrity dynamics after freeze–thawing. Although the samples treated with CLC exhibited lower sperm quality than the control samples (P 0.05) after long-term incubation (26 h at 37 or 16°C). Additionally, the CLC-treated spermatozoa underwent similar capacitation and DNA fragmentation dynamics as the control spermatozoa (P > 0.05). However, CLC-treated spermatozoa were better able to bind to TERT-OPEC in vitro (P

Creatinuria was found in normal rams, wethers, and ewes on ordinary diets. This finding emphasizes the need for caution> in interpreting urine creatine concentration or creatine to creatinine ratios used as diagnostic aids in muscular dys� trophy in sheep. No change in creatine output per 24 hr was observed when the ewes were fasted for 6 days. Values are given for the ratio creatine clearance to creatinine clearance in rams, wethers, and ewes and for creatine clearance in ewes.

Para-aminohippurate (PAH) and para-aminobenzoate (PAB) are estimated in plasma and urine from wethers after a subcutaneous injection of PAB. The rate of synthesis of PAH from injected PL4B is taken as a measure of liver function and the rate of urinary excretion of the synthesized PAH as a measure of kidney function. It is shown that extrahepatic synthesis of PAH from PAB is unlikely to interfere with these tests of function. Some values for normal animals are given.