Table 5. Effects of rectal temperature on Days 0 and 3 on endometrial epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentrations and conception rates after embryo transfer (ET) in dairy cows.
| Rectal temperature |
EGF profile † (n) | EGF conc. | Conception (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Day 3 | |||
| ≥ 39.5ºC | ≥ 39.5ºC | Normal (3) | 6.05 ± 0.54 | 2/3 (66.7) |
| Altered (9) | 2.76 ± 0.98 | 1/9 (11.1) | ||
| ≥ 39.5ºC | < 39.5ºC | Normal (7) | 6.68 ± 0.55 | 5/7 (71.4) |
| Altered (11) | 2.22 ± 1.03 | 0/11 (0.0) | ||
| Sub total | Normal (10) | 6.49 ± 1.35 a | 7/10 (70.0) | |
| Altered (20) | 2.47 ± 1.05 A | 1/20 (5.0) | ||
| All (30) | 3.81 ± 2.22 a | 8/30 (26.7 a) | ||
| < 39.5ºC | ≥ 39.5ºC | Normal (10) | 7.95 ± 1.28 | 6/10 (60.0) |
| Altered (5) | 3.63 ± 0.40 | 1/5 (20.0) | ||
| < 39.5ºC | < 39.5ºC | Normal (15) | 7.93 ± 1.18 | 12/15 (80.0) |
| Altered (7) | 2.86 ± 1.30 | 0/7 (0.0) | ||
| Sub total | Normal (25) | 7.93 ± 1.18 b | 18/25 (72.0) | |
| Altered (12) | 3.18 ± 1.10 B | 1/12 (8.3) | ||
| All (37) | 6.39 ± 2.52 b | 19/37 (51.4 b) | ||
| Total | Normal (35) | 7.52 ± 1.42 | 25/35 (71.4 x) | |
| Altered (32) | 2.73 ± 1.12 | 2/32 (6.3 y) | ||
| All (67) | 5.23 ± 2.71 | 27/67 (40.3) | ||
a, b Values with different letters significantly differ between cows with a rectal temperature of 39.5°C or higher (≥ 39.5°C) and lower than 39.5°C (< 39.5°C) on Day 0 (P < 0.05). A, B Values with different letters within the same column slightly differ between cows with a rectal temperature ≥ 39.5°C and < 39.5°C on Day 0 (P = 0.09). x, y Values with different letters significantly differ between cows with normal and altered EGF profiles (P < 0.05). EGF concentrations are presented as means ± SDs. † EGF profile was determined by the value of endometrial EGF concentration on Day 3; EGF concentration of between 4.7 and 13.5 ng/g tissue weight (normal range) was considered to be normal, whereas that of < 4.70 and 13.5 < ng/g tissue weight was considered to be altered based on previous findings [36, 38].