COMPARISON OF A RAPID TEST WITH bPAG ELISA IN PREGNANCY DIAGNOSIS IN COWS

Early pregnancy detection is vital for properly managing livestock farms by re-inseminating nonpregnant females and minimizing the calving intervals. The present investigation was executed to compare a rapid test (Dairy Cow Pregnancy Test from Span Biotech Ltd. Shenzhen, China) with a commercial bPAG ELISA test (IDEXX®) for pregnancy diagnosis in non-descriptive cows. The study also aimed to elucidate if the rapid test could be an alternative method to ELISA in the field. Blood and urine samples were collected from 43 cows to measure the concentrations of bovine pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (bPAGs) in the blood samples and detect progesterone via the rapid test in the urine samples. Examining the genital tracts was achieved after slaughtering the cows to determine the uterus’ state, used as the reference standard for both tests. The results showed that the bPAG ELISA test was more accurate in pregnancy detection than the rapid test. However, there were no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) between both methods’ results. We conclude that the rapid test can be a suitable alternative method to the bPAG ELISA test for diagnosing pregnancy in cows in field conditions.

Ginsenoside Rb1 Mitigates Escherichia coli Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Endometritis through TLR4-Mediated NF-κB Pathway

Endometritis is the inflammatory response of the endometrial lining of the uterus and is associated with low conception rates, early embryonic mortality, and prolonged inter-calving intervals, and thus poses huge economic losses to the dairy industry worldwide. Ginsenoside Rb1 (GnRb1) is a natural compound obtained from the roots of Panax ginseng, having several pharmacological and biological properties. However, the anti-inflammatory properties of GnRb1 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged endometritis through the TLR4-mediated NF-κB signaling pathway has not yet been researched. This study was planned to evaluate the mechanisms of how GnRb1 rescues LPS-induced endometritis. In the present research, histopathological findings revealed that GnRb1 ameliorated LPS-triggered uterine injury. The ELISA and RT-qPCR assay findings indicated that GnRb1 suppressed the expression level of pro-inflammatory molecules (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) and boosted the level of anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokine. Furthermore, the molecular study suggested that GnRb1 attenuated TLR4-mediated NF-κB signaling. The results demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of GnRb1 in the mouse model of LPS-triggered endometritis via the inhibition of the TLR4-associated NF-κB pathway. Taken together, this study provides a baseline for the protective effect of GnRb1 to treat endometritis in both humans and animals.

Survey of beef bulls in Brazil to assess their role as source of infectious agents related to cow infertility

Poor reproductive performance in beef cattle caused by infectious agents results in major financial losses as a result of reduced pregnancy rates and extended calving intervals. Bulls can be subclinical chronic carriers of bacterial and protozoal agents involved in cow infertility, such as Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis, Ureaplasma diversum, Mycoplasma bovigenitalium, Mycoplasma bovis, and Tritrichomonas foetus. Bulls harbor these microorganisms in their preputial crypts and transmit the agents to cows during natural mating. To obtain an overview of the etiologic agents in the preputial mucus of bulls, we aimed to identify, by PCR assay, C. fetus subsp. venerealis, M. bovis, U. diversum, M. bovigenitalium, and T. foetus in Brazilian bulls from farms with high infertility rates. We collected preputial mucus from 210 bulls on 18 beef cattle farms in Brazil between 2019 and 2020. We found at least one of the infectious agents that we were studying in bulls on 16 of the 18 beef cattle farms tested. We detected at least one infectious agent from 159 of 210 (76%) bulls tested, namely C. fetus subsp. venerealis, M. bovis, U. diversum, M. bovigenitalium, and T. foetus in 87 (55%), 84 (53%), 45 (28%), 28 (18%), and 1 (0.6%) animal, respectively. We found 95 bulls (60%) positive for only 1 etiologic agent (single infection) and 64 bulls (40%) carried multiple agents. Our results demonstrate the occurrence of bacterial and protozoal infectious agents that may be related to infertility in Brazilian beef cattle herds.

CALVING PATTERNS OF N’DAMA COWS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

The calving patterns, calving and postpartum anoestrus intervals calving percentages and calf mortality of N’Dama cows in a cattle herd belonging to the Federal College of Agricultural, Akure were examined for the 1991 – 1995 calving periods. A total of 128 cows were involved. Calving patterns were irregular from year to year and calving percentage varied from 45 to 65% with a mean of 54.69% while calf mortality was between 6.25 and 11.11% during the period. Calving intervals were 786 ± 44.99 and 712 ± 14.70 days (1993 and 1995). Value for days open were 506 ± 44.99 and 432 ± 14.70 days (1993 and 1995) for the same years. The results of the study are suggestive of inefficient reproduction within the herd.

The Role Of Minerals In The Growth And Viability Of Bunaji Cattle Raised Under Traditional Management In Central Nigeria.

About 400 Bunaji cattle from 12 herds at three sites namely, Kurmin Biri, Madauchi and Ganawuri were used to study the productivity of cattle fed mineral supplements under village conditions. Two herds at each site were allocated at random to each treatment. Mineral blocks containing 11% P and local salt licks containing 96% NaCI which served as control were fed. Supplementation lasted three years. Mineral blocks were put out daily in the Kraals and taken in during rains and when the animals went grazing. Births and disposals were recorded. Animals were weighed monthly using portable barlo electronic scales. Animals grazed natural pasture and crop residues after harvest. Data were analysed using general linear models (GLM) procedure of SAS, Analysis were done for birth weights up to 18 months. Models used for analysis involved the fixed effects of location, herds nested within location, year and season of calving, parity, age of dam and sex of calf. The results showed that birth weights were significantly influenced by location (P<0.05), year of birth (P<0.05) and mineral supplementation (P<0.05). The birth weights were 22.4±0.53, 21.1± 0.42 and 18.2±0.40 kg in Ganawuri, Kurmin Biri and Madauchi respectively. Calves born in 1988 were significantly heavier than those born in 1989 and 1990 and weighed 21.1±0.47, 19.8±0.39 and 20.8±0.48 kg in 1988, 1989 and 1990 respectively. The mineral supplemented calves weighed 21.1±0.38 and 19.9±0.36 kg for phosphate and salt respectively. Using weight as a covariate, it was shown that the growth rate of P supplemented group was significantly higher than the control group (P<0.05) so that at 18 months the mineral group weighed 165 kg, an improvement of 22%. Calving interval was influenced by location (P<0.05), year of calving (P<0.01) but not significantly by treatment (P>0.05). Calving intervals were 530±62.9 and 503±54.8 days for mineral and salt respectively. Cumulative mortality percentage of calves to 9 and 12 months were not significantly affected by mineral supplementation (P>0.05). These were 11.1±5.00 and 13.4±5.31 and 17.4±5.06 and 24.0±5.43 for mineral and salt respectively. It is concluded that the provision of P-rich mineral blocks to agropastoral herds at strategic periods can improve the productivity of Bunaji cattle.

Water Resources and Dry Matter Production for Livestock in Northern Nigeria

A total of 141 lactation records from 70 F, Friesian d x Bunaji & cattle maintained at the National Veterinary Research Institute's dairy farin, Vom, from 1970 - 1975 was utilized. Measurements were made of milk production traits of economic importance, Average milk yield was 1694 kg in 258 days. Mean 305 - day yield was 1896 kg. The third and fourth lactations were superior to the first and second (P <0.05). Differences in lactation lengths were small (P >0.05). Peak production occurred at the fourth lacta tion when animals were 67 months old. Age at first calving averaged 29.7 months. Mean dry period and calving intervals were 64 and 331 days respectively. First calvers were non-significantly more persistent than older cows (P >0.05). Management practices essential for increased milk production and shorter calving intervals were suggested.

A STUDY ON REPRODUCTION AND FERTILITY OF ACHAI CATTLE AT DIR, (L) PAKISTAN

A revised study was conducted at Livestock Research and Development Station Dir,Lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Pakistan to document the fertility and reproductive characteristics of Achai cattle. Three different characteristics i.e. gestation period, calving interval and birth weight were studied. 25 animals were observed for gestation period, 24 for calving intervals and 40 new born were weighed for birth weight respectively. Mean gestation period, calving interval and birth weight wererecordedto be 274.84±17.31, 446.38±37.14 days and 16.25±2.44 kgs respectively.

Influence of inbreeding and some environmental factors on calving intervals in N'Dama cattle of Southwest Nigeria

Records of 4184 N'Dama calves born between 1947 and 1984 at Fashola Stock Farm, Oyo State, Nigeria was used to compute inbreeding coefficient and determine its effects on calving intervals of cows. Only 273 of the 4184 calves (6.53%) were inbred with an average inbreeding coefficient of 9.71%, while five out of 293 sires had inbreeding coefficient of 9.25% and 43 out of 1849 dams had inbreeding coefficient of 9.95%. The inbreeding coefficient for the entire population was 0.63%, respectively 0.70% and 0.58% for male and female calves. The average calving interval was 445.34 ± 2.68 days within the herd while year of birth, parity of dam, age of dam and dam's age at first calving all significantly (P<0.05) impacted calving intervals of cows. Season of birth and inbreeding coefficient of dam did not exert statistical (P>0.05) influence on calving intervals of dams. Although the number of inbred animals in the population is relatively low, however the inbreeding level of these animals is high, which may be attributed to the fact that breeding policy on the farm was not strictly adhered to, and lack of proper and adequate registration system coupled with inconsistent animal identification system on the farm may be responsible for the inbreeding observed in the N'Dama population at Fashola Stock Farm.