Ovarian follicle development continues in a wave-like manner during the bovine oestrous cycle giving rise to variation in the duration of ovulatory follicle development. The objectives of the present study were to determine whether a relationship exists between the duration of ovulatory follicle development and pregnancy rates following artificial insemination (AI) in dairy cows undergoing spon...

Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurones constitute the final output pathway of a neuronal network that controls the preovulatory luteinising hormone (LH) surge and ovulation. Throughout the reproductive cycle, several neurotransmitters stimulate and inhibit the activity of GnRH neurones, including oxytocin. The central administration of oxytocin antiserum abolishes the pro-oestrous LH s...

The theory of ejaculate economics was mainly built around different sperm competition scenarios but also predicts that investments into ejaculates depend on female fecundity. Previous tests of this prediction focused on invertebrates and lower vertebrate, and on species with high female reproductive potential. It remains unclear whether the prediction also holds for polygynous mammals with low ...

The present study investigated peripheral plasma immunoreactive inhibin (ir-inhibin) concentrations in relation to the stage of oestrous cycle and progesterone concentrations in cycling Sahiwal cattle (Bos indicus) and Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Blood samples were collected once daily for thirty-two consecutive days from cattle and buffaloes (5 each) during winter months of January and...

The pattern of peripheral serum concentration for the peptide hormone relaxin in women points to the possibility of an interesting paracrine function in the cycle and early pregnancy. In order to investigate this physiology in detail, it was decided to examine local relaxin biosynthesis in an established primate model for human female reproductive function, the marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacch...

Biological sex is being increasingly recognized as a significant variable in biomedical research. Numerous animal and human studies demonstrate that males females can differ significantly their genetics, anatomy, physiology behaviour through various stages of development ageing. Moreover, these inherent differences male female biology directly contribute to disease incidence, severity, onset tr...

...................................................................................................... ORIGINAL ARTICLES.................................................................................... ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................... 10 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................