Table 3.
Least square means comparison (confidence interval) of blood cell parameters and plasma metabolites between heifer calves and pregnant heifers.
| Traits (Abbreviation; Unit) | Heifer Calves | Pregnant Heifers | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete blood cell parameters * | |||
| Fibrinogen (g/dL) | 4.03 (3.87, 4.19) | 4.34 (4.04, 4.64) | 0.07 |
| Hematocrit (%) | 35.8 (35.2, 36.4) | 34.1 (33.0, 35.1) | 0.01 |
| Hemoglobin (mg/dL) | 122 (120, 125) | 119 (115, 123) | 0.15 |
| Lymphocytes (% WBC) | 63.3 (61.7, 64.9) | 63.9 (60.9, 66.9) | 0.72 |
| Mean cell hemoglobin (MCH; pg) | 15.4 (15.3, 15.6) | 16.2 (15.9, 16.4) | <0.01 |
| Mean corpuscular value (MCV; Hfl) | 45.1 (44.7, 45.4) | 46.1 (45.4, 46.8) | 0.01 |
| Monocytes (% WBC) | 3.75 (3.42, 4.09) | 4.10 (3.47, 4.72) | 0.34 |
| Platelets (103 cells/µL) | 462 (440, 484) | 336 (296, 377) | <0.01 |
| Red blood cells (RBC; 106 cells/µL) | 7.95 (7.81, 8.10) | 7.30 (7.03, 7.57) | <0.01 |
| Segmented neutrophils (% WBC) | 27.9 (26.5, 29.3) | 27.0 (24.4, 29.6) | 0.55 |
| White blood cells (WBC; 103 cells/µL) | 9.95 (9.60, 10.3) | 8.33 (7.79, 8.91) | <0.01 |
| Enzymes | |||
| Alkaline phosphatase (ALP; U/L) | 95.1 (88.9, 102) | 115 (99.3, 136) | 0.02 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase (AST; U/L) | 55.0 (53.7, 56.2) | 56.9 (54.5, 59.2) | 0.17 |
| Creatine kinase (CK; U/L) | 171 (164, 178) | 153 (142, 166) | 0.02 |
| Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT; U/L) | 16.2 (15.8, 16.6) | 16.2 (15.4, 17.0) | 0.96 |
| Glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH; U/L) | 18.1 (17.0, 19.4) | 16.1 (14.2, 18.1) | 0.09 |
| Compounds | |||
| Albumin (g/L) | 34.0 (33.7, 34.3) | 33.8 (33.3, 34.3) | 0.56 |
| Albumin: globulin ratio | 1.03 (1.01, 1.05) | 0.99 (0.96, 1.03) | 0.08 |
| Beta hydroxy butarate acid (BHBA; µmol/L) | 161 (154, 167) | 167 (156, 180) | 0.32 |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2; mmol/L) | 23.4 (23.1, 23.7) | 26.2 (25.6, 26.9) | <0.01 |
| Cholesterol (mmol/L) | 3.42 (3.31, 3.53) | 3.05 (2.85, 3.25) | <0.01 |
| Creatinine (µmol/L) | 115 (112, 117) | 126 (120, 131) | <0.01 |
| Globulin (g/L) | 33.5 (33.0, 34.0) | 34.5 (33.7, 35.4) | 0.04 |
| Glucose (mmol/L) | 4.36 (4.29, 4.43) | 3.96 (3.85, 4.08) | <0.01 |
| Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA: mmol/L) | 0.26 (0.25, 0.28) | 0.28 (0.25, 0.32) | 0.34 |
| Urea (mmol/L) | 2.65 (2.58, 2.72) | 2.76 (2.63, 2.88) | 0.15 |
| Ions | |||
| Anion gap (mmol/L) | 27.4 (26.9, 27.8) | 27.8 (27.0, 28.7) | 0.33 |
| Calcium (mmol/L) | 2.40 (2.38, 2.41) | 2.39 (2.37, 2.42) | 0.84 |
| Chloride (mmol/L) | 94.6 (94.3, 94.9) | 96.6 (96.0, 97.1) | <0.01 |
| Magnesium (mmol/L) | 0.87 (0.86, 0.88) | 0.89 (0.87, 0.91) | 0.19 |
| Osmolality (mmol/L) | 277 (277, 278) | 277 (276, 278) | 0.39 |
| Potassium (mmol/L) | 4.30 (4.26, 4.34) | 4.21 (4.13, 4.28) | 0.03 |
| Phosphorus (mmol/L) | 2.19 (2.15, 2.23) | 2.00 (1.93, 2.07) | <0.01 |
| Sodium (mmol/L) | 141 (141, 141) | 141 (141, 141) | 0.94 |
| Hormone | |||
| Triiodothyronine (T3; nmol/L) | 1.86 (1.80, 1.91) | 1.77 (1.67, 1.87) | 0.15 |
* This class of blood analytes represent least square means of the average combining the start and end of the performance evaluation results. All other classes represent least square means of the repeated measures obtained through five assessments over the 124 days performance test.