Busa is an old endangered autochthonous breed of the western Balkan, especially Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania. A related breed is Gatacko, derived from Busa × Tirolean Grey crossbreds. Fifteen purebred Busa cattle and thirteen Gatacko animals were genotyped for polymorphisms at the kappa-casein gene by a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) essay. The alleles A, B and C were found and the allelic frequencies were 0.46 (A), 0.46 (B) and 0.08 (C) in Busa cattle and 0.58 (A) and 0.42 (B) in Gatacko. Only AA, AB, BB and BC genotypes occurred. Further alleles were not detected and are therefore either absent in both populations or rare. The allele »B« found in this small population will be useful for a sire selection program in the future.

Pramenka je ovca kombiniranih svojstava, skromna u ishrani, vrlo otporna i dobro prilago ena našim uvjetima, ali slabih produktivnih osobina jer se uzgaja u brdsko-planinskim uvjetima, nepovoljnim za intenzivniju proizvodnju sto ne hrane, zbog ega je ishrana veoma esto kvantitativno i kvalitativno nedostatna. Na pravilnost ishrane ukazuje razina njihove proizvodnje, ali i njihov metaboli ki status koji se prosu uje odre ivanjem biokemijskih parametara krvi. Biokemijski parametri krvi mogu ukazati na energetsku, proteinsku i mineralnu opskrbu organizma, a istovremeno i na zdravstveni status životinje. Stoga smo proveli ispitivanje širokog spektra biokemijskih parametara u krvi ovaca s dva lokaliteta, op ine Livno i Travnik, u ljetnom razdoblju kada su životinje bile na ispaši karakteristi nog botani kog sastava navedenih podru ja, a sve s ciljem usporedbe sa standardnim vrijednostima parametara za ovce, ali i me usobnih podataka s dva razli ita podru ja. Krv je uzorkovana iz v. jugularis i u serumu su odre ivani sljede i biokemijski parametri: glukoza, Mg, P, Ca, ukupni proteini, LDH, GGT, AST, ALT, ALKP, kolesterol, trigliceridi, urea i albumini. Važnost istraživanja je u injenici da se prou avanjem metabili kog statusa unapre uju saznanja o interakciji lokalnog uzgoja i metabolizma ovce u funkciji održivosti autohtonih pasmina.

The aim of the study was to explore the effect of lactate on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in rats. Thirty Wistar rats, weighing 250 - 300 g. were arbitrarily divided into one of three groups (n =10): insulin (1 IU/kg) treated group, lactate (80 mg/kg), and insulin plus lactate treated groups. Blood glucose levels were measured in venous samples collected from the tail vein over 3 hour period after insulin or/and lactate administration in 30-minute intervals. To estimate the influence of lactate on insulin blood level, a total of 20 rats were divided into 4 groups (n = 5): saline, insulin, lactate, and insulin plus lactate treated group, respectively. Sixty minutes after the appropriate application of the same doses of insulin, lactate, and lactate plus insulin, as in the previous part of the experiment, plasma insulin and blood glucose levels were determined in blood samples drawn from the abdominal aorta. Lactate in combination with insulin, in comparison to insulin application alone, caused a dramatic increase in plasma insulin level (p<0,001) and more profound hypoglicaemia (p<0,001). The results of this investigation indicate that lactate application significantly increases the rate of glucose uptake from peripheral blood caused by exogenous insulin action. The possible involvement of lactate in the mechanism of enhanced glucose uptake due to insulin action after physical exercise is discussed.

Knowledge of spontaneous aberrations, namely, of their frequency in non-irradiated cells is of paramount importance not only in cytogenetic research, but also in contemporary animal production. The paper deals with research on spontaneously emerged chromosomal aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes in the cattle of 'Busa' breed. To obtain metaphase chromosomes the conventional method of lymphocyte cultivation was used, albeit slightly modified and adapted to the examined animals and the laboratory conditions. The research findings indicate that a certain percent of spontaneously emerged chromosomal aberrations of chromatid type (gap and break) have been found in the peripheral blood lymphocytes in the cattle of 'Busa' breed.

The endogenous opiate receptor antagonist (naloxone, NAL) and alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonist (dihydroergotoxine, DHETX) were infused separately or simultaneously in dogs to determine their effects in hemonhagic shock. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate, electrocardiogram, respiratory rate, haematocrit and plasma protein concentration were measured during sustained posthemorrhagic hypotension (180 min, 40 mmHg) in 22 dogs. Animals were divided into four groups: DHETX-treated (n=6), NAL-treated (n=5), DHETX+NAL-treated (n=5), and SAL (saline)-treated (control group, n=6). The treatment was performed before bleeding. After 3 hours of posthemorrhagic hypotension, ali shed blood was returned to the dogs, and animals passed through a postretrasfusion period for 60 min. The animals which survived experimental procedure were observed in next 24 hours. Under the present experimental conditions, prophylactic administration of DHETX had better effects on preservation of parameters measured and survival of dogs than NAL, while DHETX+NAL treatment had the worst effects (no one dog survived).

Drawing upon information from literature and relying on some knowledge we possess, in our work we attempted to establish whether growth intensity in pigs, their fattening capacity and slaughtering qualities could be associated with some biochemical qualities of their blood, such as: alkaline phosphatase activity (AP), levels of protein-bound iodine (PBI) and tyrosine, levels of insulin and glychemic and insulin reaction to oral loading with glucose, as well as histomorphological characteristics of thyroid and endocrine pancreas. The tests were performed on Swedish Landrace pigs (n=21) of both sexes, which were divided into two groups on the basis of insulin level in their morning blood sample: group A (n=9) with lower, and group B (n=12) with higher level of insulin. When fattening was finished the animals were slaughtered and then slaughtering qualities and histomorphological characteristics of thyroid and endocrine pancreas determined. The performed investigation showed that some differences in the studied characteristics exist between the groups of pigs of the same breed. However, the obtained results are not of such weight that would allow drawing conclusions of sound and reliable character pertaining to the possible association of chemical qualities of blood with fattening and slaughtering qualities.