Subordinate female common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) undergo ovulation suppression and exhibit low plasma cortisol levels compared to the dominant, breeding female. To determine whether this cortisol difference is mediated by the differential reproductive consequences of social status, we monitored plasma progesterone and cortisol in 32 adult female marmosets while they were housed in heter...

The effects of exercise training on cardiovascular and autonomic functions were investigated in female rats. After an aerobic exercise training period (treadmill: 5 days/week for 8 weeks), conscious female Wistar (2 to 3 months) sedentary (S, N = 7) or trained rats (T, N = 7) were cannulated for direct arterial pressure (AP) recording in the non-ovulatory phases. Vagal (VT) and sympathetic tonu...

It has been suggested that sexual identity in the germline depends upon the combination of a nonautonomous somatic signaling pathway and an autonomous X chromosome counting system. In the studies reported here, we have examined the role of the sexual differentiation genes transformer (tra) and doublesex (dsx) in regulating the activity of the somatic signaling pathway. We asked whether ectopic ...

introduction: sexual dimorphisms in biological structures such as brain and behaviour have been widely recognized in animals and humans. the purpose of this study was to examine whether there are sex differences in the size of the cerebellum with other body traits, such as the head, tail and brain. methods: twelve grasscutters comprising of 6 males and 6 females were used in this study. each br...

This study investigated the prevalence, risk factors and species composition of ticks, fleas and lice infesting dogs and cats in and around Hawassa in southern Ethiopia. In total, 200 dogs and 100 cats were examined from November 2008 to April 2009. Of the dogs and cats examined, 99.5% and 91.5%, respectively, were infested with one or more species of ticks, fleas or lice. The overall preva...

Acetaminophen administration is gaining popularity as a postsurgical analgesic in many rodent labs despite reports that animals may consume suboptimal doses as a result of taste neophobia. The present study evaluated the presence, duration, and extent of acetaminophen neophobia in adult male and female rats (Long Evans) with the intent of developing a protocol for administration of this analges...

Immune function is better in females than in males of many vertebrate species, and this dimorphism has been attributed to the presence of immunosuppressive androgens in males. We investigated the influence of sex steroid hormones on immune function in male and female Siberian hamsters. Previous studies indicated that immune function was impaired in male and female hamsters housed under short-da...

Female reproductive anatomy of the Arabian oryx is unknown. In this study, reproductive tracts of seven female Arabian oryx (aged 2 to 7 years) were examined to characterize their reproductive anatomy. Observations and measurements were obtained in situ from dead animals during necropsy. Animals were allocated into two groups: cycling (n = 3; follicles or corpora lutea present) and not-cycling ...

In sexually reproducing animals, primordial germ cells (PGCs) are often set aside early in embryogenesis, a strategy that minimizes the risk of genomic damage associated with replication and mitosis during the cell cycle. Here, we have used germ line markers (piwi, vasa, and nanos) and microinjected cell lineage tracers to show that PGC specification in the leech genus Helobdella follows a diff...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may offer therapeutic benefit in the setting of sepsis and endotoxemia. Previous studies suggest that MSCs from female donors may possess better protective capabilities than their male counterparts. The present study examined whether female MSCs may offer a greater protective advantage in the setting of endotoxemic cardiac dysfunction compared with male MSCs. Adult...