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Background and objectives: The insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system has many receptors, signaling pathways, and ligands, making it highly complex. IGF1 increases the function of germ cells by increasing the synthesis of spermatogonia DNA and slowing down apoptotic cells. One of the most important objectives of this study was to investigate the function of fennel on the expression of the IGF1 gene in Kermani sheep testes. Methods: The study involved three levels of fennel in the diets (20, 10, and zero g/kg dry matter), and tissue sampling was performed using testis tissue. Samples were rapidly placed in liquid nitrogen before being stored at -80°C. Then, total RNA was extracted and for the IGF1 gene (target) and GAPDH gene (reference), the real-time polymerase chain reaction was applied. Results: The outcomes displayed that increasing levels of fennel in the ration significantly (p < 0.05) increases the weight of the testis (0.35 kg and 0.36 kg at the levels of 1% and 2% fennel, respectively) compared to rations without fennel (0.29 kg at the levels of 0%). Association between testosterone and fennel feeding in studied lambs showed that adding fennel to the diet significantly (p < 0.05) increasesthe concentration of blood testosterone (3.5 ng/dL and 4.4 ng/dL at the levels of 1% and 2% fennel, respectively) compared with rations without fennel (1.7 ng/dL). The results show that adding fennel to the diet significantly (p < 0.05) increases the amount of IGF1 gene expression in the testis (2.5 and 2.7 at the levels of 1% and 2% fennel, respectively) compared with rations without fennel (1 at the levels of 0% fennel). Conclusions: Fennel has an affirmative effect on gene expression in the testis and can be added to sheep food rations to progress reproductive functions (by stimulating Leydig cell steroidogenesis, producing more sperm and testosterone, and growing and developing the testis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that addition of fennel in the diets of domestic animals has positive and beneficial effects on growth and meat production traits. Thus, the purpose of current study was to investigate the effect of adding fennel in the ration on growth characteristics and on insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) gene expression in muscle tissue of Kermani lamb. Feeding of animals were performed with three levels of fennel including zero, 10 and 20 g/kg dry matter (DM) for 90 days. After slaughter, small pieces of tissues were removed and rapidly transferred to a nitrogen tank. Then, total RNA extracting and the Real-Time PCR reaction was performed. Results showed that as the level of fennel in the diet increases the amount of IGF1 gene expression also increases significantly in humeral muscle and femur (leg) muscle tissues (p < 0.05). In animals fed with fennel, femur muscle weight, back muscle weight, lean meat weight, final weight, warm carcass weight and live daily gain were greater than in animals fed with diet without fennel (p < 0.05). According to the findings of this investigation, it can be concluded that fennel, by creating positive effects on IGF1 gene expression can be used to improve muscle structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose was to determine the characteristics of female athletes' perceptions of the psychological safety of the educational space and to compare the impact on the motivational orientation of female athletes of the game (Group I) and individual sports (Group II). An empirical study was conducted with female students from the Faculty of Physical Culture and Sports, with Group I (n = 26; 55.32%) participating in team sports (handball, volleyball), and Group II (n = 21; 44.68%) participating in individual sports (athletics). Psychodiagnostic research methods were used: the "Questionnaire of an Athlete's Motivational Orientation" (I. Smoldovskaya) was used to study motivational orientation, and the "Psychological Safety of the Educational Space" questionnaire (I. Baeva, E. Volkova, E. Laktionova) was used to study female athletes' perceptions of psychological safety in the educational space. Results. Differences between groups of female athletes with different perceptions of the level of psychological safety of the university's educational space were established based on the components of female athletes' motivational orientation (p<.05), indicating the influence of satisfaction with the parameters of interaction with students, teachers, and coaching staff. It has been proved that a high level of psychological safety (Group 1) was associated with athletes' motivational focus on the results, on the business, proving the first hypothesis. A low level of psychological safety (Group 2) has been found to cause a focus on oneself, one's prestige, interest, and benefit. A comparison was made between two groups of female athletes of game sports (Group I) and individual sports (Group II). Group I female athletes had a statistical advantage in the object-oriented and socially-oriented components, whereas Group II female athletes had a higher indicator of the personal-oriented component (p<.05). It was established that there were no statistically significant differences between groups in the result-oriented component of motivational orientation, demonstrating the lack of dependence of motivational orientation on the results of a specific type of sport and disproving the second hypothesis. Conclusions. It is recommended to implement the results obtained in the research into the female athletes' psychological preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the main trends in the dairy industry development in Ukraine over the past decades. During this period, there has been a fivefold reduction in the number of dairy cattle (2925.2 thousand heads in 2021) and a twofold increase in average milk yield (6101 kg in 2019). On the basis of crossing females of local breeds with bulls of Holstein, Swiss and some other breeds, four Ukrainian breeds of dairy cattle were created. Initially, there was a tendency to replace local breeds (Black-and-White, Simmental, Red Steppe, Lebedynska) with newly created breeds (Ukrainian Red-and-White dairy, Ukrainian Black-and-White dairy, Ukrainian Red dairy and Ukrainian Brown dairy). However, Holstein bulls are now widely used for insemination of cows and heifers (except Ukrainian Brown dairy). And today, these breeds are developing under absorbing crossbreeding and herds of Ukrainian dairy breeds are gradually becoming Holstein. In parallel with an increase in milk production, this has brought some negative elements associated with the use of high-yielding Holstein breed. In particular, these include the reducing of cow longevity, deteriorating of their reproduction ability and decreasing of replacement heifers’ number. The searches for ways of solving the problem as well as the preservation of local breeds of dairy cattle are urgent tasks of dairy farming in Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the calpastatin gene expression in different tissues of Kermani sheep using the real-time PCR. Tissue samples from the brain, humeral muscle, femoral muscle, liver, adipose tissue, rumen and testis were taken from 30 Kermani sheep. Total RNA was extracted using RNXTM plus solution. To determine the quantity (concentration) and quality of the extracted RNA, two methods of RNA; electrophoresis on 1% agarose gel and a Nano drop device were used. A Thermoscientific kit (Iran) was used for cDNA synthesis. After performing normal PCR reactions and obtaining the desired binding conditions and temperature for the genes, real-time PCR was performed to study the relative gene expression. The Beta-actin gene was used as a housekeeping gene. The Pfaffl method was used to analyze the data. The quality of the extracted RNAs was good. The presence of two 18S and 28S bands in the rRNA indicated that the RNA was healthy and the absence of an additional band was an indication of its purity. For the calpastatin gene, the 189bp fragment, and for Beta-actin, the 206bp fragment was observed in all tissues. The real-time PCR findings showed that calpastatin gene was expressed in all tissues (brain, humeral muscle, liver, adipose, femoral tissue, rumen and testis) with the highest level of expression in the humeral and femoral muscles and the lowest level in adipose tissues. This study lays a foundation for further calpastatin research in sheep. It is suggested that this study be conducted on a greater number of animals, and different breeds, sexes, ages and physiological stages to reach a more comprehensive conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the intron 2 of leptin gene polymorphism in wild, native and exotic goat breeds in Iran using PCR-RFLP. Blood samples were collected from 14 wild and domestic goat breeds including (Cashmere Abadeh, Torki-Ghashghaei, Naeini, Robati, Nadoushani, Adani, Shahrbabaki, Birjandi, China goat, Sannen, Pakistani, Raeini cashmere, Najdi and Wild goat) and then the genomic DNA was extracted. A 422bp fragment from intron 2 of the leptin gene was amplified. PCR products were digested by Sau3AI restriction enzyme and were separated and visualized on the agarose gel. Three genotypes including MM, Mm and mm with genotype frequency of 94%, 1% and 5%, respectively, were observed in the studied populations. The number of observed alleles, number of the effective alleles, Nei's Index and Shanon's Index were 2, 1.10, 0.09 and 0.19, respectively. The studied populations were not found to be in a Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Our investigation demonstrated that MM genotype and M allele had a very high frequency (0.94 and 0.95, respectively) in Iranian goats. Hence, it can be concluded that this finding can provide basis for selection when considering evolution and differentiation among breeds, however further studies should be carried out on a larger population of different domestic and wild breeds to verify the final conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the role and importance of the appropriate strategy choosing for the tourist enterprises development, especially at the tourist service level, we should define the type of strategy. In this article, backgrounds and types of the diversification strategy at the tourist enterprises are described. The features of the diversification strategy services at the tourist enterprises are defined. The main goals of different types of diversification strategy implementing on the tourist enterprises have been grounded. Possible risks that could arrive after diversification strategy implementing at the small and big tourist enterprises are predicted. Among them are: lack of permanent investments, lack of experience in the new skills and techniques required, great uncertainty in which company put itself within diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]