In this study we investigated maternal Helicobacter felis (H. felis) infection status to determine the potential of maternal transmission. Pregnant Beagle dogs were infected experimentally with H. felis. Following the experimental design, the stools of the mother and litters were isolated and assessed for transmission of H. felis at parturition day, 1-week old age and 6-week old age respectivel...

Hypersensitivity actively induced in utero is shown to persist for a longer period than passive sensitization. The degree of hypersensitivity, its duration, and its transmissibility appear to be influenced by the time elapsing between the original injection of the parent and parturition. A pregnant guinea pig receiving a parenteral injection of antigen 2 to 4 days prior to parturition transmits...

Reproductive features of newly bred Russian voles (Microtus rossiaemeridionalis) as a laboratory animal were studied. This species is a copulatory ovulator, and most couples copulated 6 to 16 h after pairing. The gestation period varied from 18 to 22 days (mean +/- SD: 20.6 +/- 0.9, n = 72), and the average litter size was 4.6 +/- 1.9 (n = 125). Compared with the litter size at the first partur...

The radioimmunoassayable concentration of insulin in isolated whey fractions of mammary secretion of sheep (n = 28) was measured. The concentrations were high on the last 2 days of pregnancy (550 +/- 80 and 580 +/- 77 microU/ml, respectively), higher on the day of parturition (780 +/- 71 microU/ml) and lower on the next day (290 +/- 54 microU/ml). During the following 4 consecutive days the con...

The most critical period for the survival of piglets is during the first 2 days of life. Causes of early piglet mortality include reduced vitality due to hypoxia during parturition, hypothermia and lack of adequate colostrum intake. Besides, low vitality piglets may run a larger risk of being crushed by the sow. In the light of the thermoregulatory challenges facing newborn piglets and the poss...

Abstract Global positioning system (GPS) technology is increasingly used to study animal behavior. However, some animals exhibit behaviors that may result in the failure acquire a GPS position, such as for species with underground denning This creates challenge researchers identify timing of important life-history events birth. Here, we tested if information gaps arising from unsuccessful posit...

The objective of this study was to evaluate cytokine gene expression and populations of lymphocyte subsets in periparturient dairy cows naturally infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Blood was collected from noninfected, subclinical, and clinical MAP-infected dairy cows for 3 wks preto 4 wk post-calving. Expression of IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10 declined at calving compar...

This study was initiated to examine parturition related behavior both from an ecological perspective and to investigate implications for brucellosis transmission risk among elk and between elk and cattle. These aspects were investigated for elk fed during the winter, elk using improved winter feedlines, and free-ranging elk. Brucellosis is a disease causing abortion in elk (Cervus elaphus nelso...

The periparturient period is critical according to health, productivity and profitability. As this period is fundamental for the success of the lactation period, the interest in improving periparturient health by dietary supplements increased in recent years. The present study investigated the effects of feeding nicotinic acid (NA) combined with varying dietary energy densities on immunological...