Performance (from 10 weeks until slaughter), carcass and meat quality, and effectiveness of immunocastration was compared in crossbred offspring of stress positive (BP+) and negative (BP-) Belgian Piétrain and Canadian Duroc (CD) given the second vaccination of Improvac® at different times (4, 6, 8 weeks before slaughter). CD offspring had a signif...
Gender dysphoria (GD) in children and adolescents is a condition that is characterized by an incongruence between the assigned and experienced gender. Despite the diversity in clinical presentation, literature demonstrates that GD might lead to poor mental health and high rates of co-occurring psychopathology. Due to the overlap of physical aspects...
Published in Scientific Reports
The control of ovulation helps guarantee the success of reproduction and as such, contributes to the fitness of a species. In mammals, two types of ovulation are observed: induced and spontaneous ovulation. Recent work on camelids, that are induced ovulators, highlighted the role of a factor present in seminal plasma, beta Nerve Growth Factor (β-NG...
The molecular mechanisms by which animals integrate external stimuli with internal energy balance to regulate major developmental and reproductive events still remain enigmatic. We investigated this aspect in the marine bristleworm, Platynereis dumerilii, a species where sexual maturation is tightly regulated by both metabolic state and lunar cycle...
Successful reproduction is a fundamental physiological process which relies on the integration of sensory cues of attraction with appropriate emotions and behaviors and the reproductive axis. However, the factors responsible for this integration remain largely unexplored. Using functional neuroimaging, hormonal and psychometric analyses, we demonst...
Published in Nature Reviews Endocrinology
The COST programme funded two European Actions for the systematic elucidation of differences of sex development and congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. In this Perspective article, the authors describe the achievements of these two related COST Actions and highlight the gaps in research.
Immunocastration (vaccination against boar taint) is an alternative method to prevent boar taint without the need for surgical castration. This study investigates the evolution of boar taint compounds in serum and fat, serum steroid compounds as well as behavior in immunocastrated pigs from 3 sire lines: 15 stress positive Belgian Piétrain (BP), 20...
Immunocastration (vaccination against boar taint) is an alternative method to prevent boar taint without the need for surgical castration. This study investigates the evolution of boar taint compounds in serum and fat, serum steroid compounds as well as behavior in immunocastrated pigs from 3 sire lines: 15 stress positive Belgian Pietrain (BP), 20...
Background: Both biodegradable and non-biodegradable peptide-loaded implants are already developed for the long-term treatment of patients, thereby reducing the frequency of drug administration. To further improve peptide formulation, extending the scope of implant-based drug delivery systems towards other polymers and processing techniques is high...
Several methods have been proposed to advance the onset of the breeding season in horses. Most of them are based on the exposure to an artificial lighting period combined with hormonal treatments. Mares exposed to an artificial photoperiod are most often housed indoors where the ambient temperature is often higher than the outside temperature. Mare...
