Size and number of corpora lutea and serum progesterone concentrations when administering two doses of eCG in an estrous synchronization treatment regimen for dairy cattle.

There was investigation of whether there were ovulations from co-dominant follicles following eCG administration. In all experiments, there was GnRH injection and CIDR insertion on day 0 (D0), CIDR withdrawal on D8, and cloprostenol administration on D8 (Exp. I and II) or D7 and D8 (Exp. III). Females in the control group were not administered any further treatment. Females in other group(s) were treated with eCG (500 IU) on Day 2 in Exp. I, Day 2 (eCG-2) or 8 (eCG-8) in Exp. II and Day 2 (eCG-2) or Days 2 and 6 (eCG-2-6) in Exp. III. Ovaries were examined using ultrasonography. In Experiments I and II, females had follicle emergence on Day 2. At the time of CIDR removal, more eCG-treated heifers (8/9; Exp. I) and cows (5/6; eCG-2; Exp. II) had co-dominant follicles compared to those in the control group (P < 0.05). Occurrence of ovulations from co-dominant for individual cows was minimal. In Experiment III, the time period from CIDR removal to estrus in cows treated with eCG-2 (68 ± 13 h) was longer compared to cows in the control (37±2 h) and eCG-2-6-treated group (38 ± 5 h; P < 0.05). There was a greater proportion of heifers having ovulations and thus greater progesterone concentration in the eCG-2-6 than eCG-2 group (P < 0.05). Administering eCG twice 4 days apart with the initial administration being two days after GnRH administration, at the time of follicle wave emergence, could induce growth of and ovulation from co-dominant follicles and enhance progesterone production in cattle.

Molecular detection of Brucella melitensis, Coxiella burnetii and Salmonella abortusovis in aborted fetuses of Baluchi sheep in Sistan region, south-eastern Iran.

Abortion in sheep and goats causes enormous economic losses. This study revealed the epidemiology of abortion caused by Brucella melitensis, Coxiella burnetii and Salmonella abortusovis in Baluchi sheep in Sistan region. In the autumn of 2015 and winter of 2016, a total of 78 aborted sheep fetuses were collected from all over the Sistan region. Risk factors, including location of livestock, history of abortion, gender of fetus, age of fetus, age of ewe and parity were obtained using a questionnaire. The results showed that 27 fetuses (35%) were infected with these organisms. Infection with B. melitensis, C. burnetii and S. abortusovis were identified respectively in 15 (19.2%), 13 (16.6%) and 1 (1.3%) fetus. Logistic regression analysis showed that infection with B. melitensis in male fetuses is higher than females (OR=3.73, P=0.040), also infection with C. burnetii in ≤2 years' ewes (OR=0.047, P=0.009) and 2-5 years' ewes (OR=0.197, P=0.069) is lower than ≥5 years' ewes.

On wettability of shale rocks.

The low recovery of hydraulic fracturing fluid in unconventional shale reservoirs has been in the centre of attention from both technical and environmental perspectives in the last decade. One explanation for the loss of hydraulic fracturing fluid is fluid uptake by the shale matrix; where capillarity is the dominant process controlling this uptake. Detailed understanding of the rock wettability is thus an essential step in analysis of loss of the hydraulic fracturing fluid in shale reservoirs, especially at reservoir conditions. We therefore performed a suit of contact angle measurements on a shale sample with oil and aqueous ionic solutions, and tested the influence of different ion types (NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, CaCl2), concentrations (0.1, 0.5 and 1M), pressures (0.1, 10 and 20MPa) and temperatures (35 and 70°C). Furthermore, a physical model was developed based on the diffuse double layer theory to provide a framework for the observed experimental data. Our results show that the water contact angle for bivalent ions is larger than for monovalent ions; and that the contact angle (of both oil and different aqueous ionic solutions) increases with increase in pressure and/or temperature; these increases are more pronounced at higher ionic concentrations. Finally, the developed model correctly predicted the influence of each tested variable on contact angle. Knowing contact angle and therefore wettability, the contribution of the capillary process in terms of water uptake into shale rocks and the possible impairment of hydrocarbon production due to such uptake can be quantified.

Evaporative cooling of speleothem drip water.

This study describes the first use of concurrent high-precision temperature and drip rate monitoring to explore what controls the temperature of speleothem forming drip water. Two contrasting sites, one with fast transient and one with slow constant dripping, in a temperate semi-arid location (Wellington, NSW, Australia), exhibit drip water temperatures which deviate significantly from the cave air temperature. We confirm the hypothesis that evaporative cooling is the dominant, but so far unattributed, control causing significant disequilibrium between drip water and host rock/air temperatures. The amount of cooling is dependent on the drip rate, relative humidity and ventilation. Our results have implications for the interpretation of temperature-sensitive, speleothem climate proxies such as δ(18)O, cave microecology and the use of heat as a tracer in karst. Understanding the processes controlling the temperature of speleothem-forming cave drip waters is vital for assessing the reliability of such deposits as archives of climate change.