Week 65 - Semen

Oh, yeah, I did just take it there. But if you want to catch the reason for this week's title, you have to read to the end...

So this week I am back at work after that little road trip up to Christmasville, and we kicked off the week in true style. As period 1 of trial C035 wraps up, we wanted to have a quick turn around with period 2. Right now, the goal is to get 2-3 done before Thanksgiving and then one more in early December. So we rushed to wash all the glassware, and wiped down all the fermenter room utilities before rushing out to the farm to grab some sample. As is tradition when you sample with me, I snap pictures of the sampling. Someday, when I graduate, I will present the collage of all the people who have rumen sampled with me, and it looks like it's going to be a pretty long list. It might seem a bit gross to some people, but it is really a pretty cool bit of science.

Back in the late 1800's or early 1900's (I forget right now), a guy got shot in the stomach and didn't die. He's pretty famous, and you could look it up if you'd like. He submitted himself for study by scientists who were interested in being able to see what was actually going on inside the body - a rarity at the time. And so the first fistulated study began. Now, fistulation of cows is a requirement for a good dairy nutrition program. It enables us to take samples from the primary chamber of the cow stomach (1 stomach, 4 chambers - not 4 stomachs), and then we can use those samples to study the microbes and their response to feeds or other stimuli. The intent is to better understand what happens inside the cow so that we can help the cow be healthier, more efficient and more consistent in her intake, digestion and milk production. People often ask me about if I feel bad for the cows that are fistulated/cannulated, and the answer is always no. Cannulated cows are precious to a research institution and are insured a long lifetime beyond their productivity in a normal dairy setting. These girls are some of my co-workers, and I miss them when they have to move on.

I learned something new about our university this week when I went over to the machine shop buried under Evans Lab to check into getting some parts machined. Over time, the rotating rod fitted within the housing (pictured at left) get worn out and eventually get stuck. Working with the degradative acids produced during rumen fermentation of starch and cellulose, the metal parts all start to collect acid and eventually brake down. What I didn't know until this week was that I can get these parts made from scratch in our machine shop, just by bringing down an example. And it was so cost effective, minimal prices for the metal and only $40/hour on the labor. Very happy with this new partnership and adding it to a growing list of reliable partnerships with our lab.

This week, my wife and I were guest at the Huntington Club in the football stadium as part of a reception for people involved in the leadership of the Pelotonia at school. Part of this included the opportunity to meet a hero from the early 2000's: Craig Krenzel. Back in the day, Krenzel was a pretty standup guy. He was a dedicated student athlete, working in a cancer research lab (the PI eventually helped found Pelotonia), with good grades as a pre-med major, and a pretty good arm combined with decision-making and grit. But when the Buckeyes won the game, Krenzel was elevated to the rank of state hero. Sure, the game wasn't pretty, but it was hard fought and one of the best sporting events I have ever watched, catapulting OSU back into the national limelight as a premiere football university. But you'd never know that when you meet Krenzel. He was nice, talked about anything but football (mostly research and bicycling), with eye contact that lacked superiorism. Great guy that did not disappoint in person.

Big wigging it. Dr. Caliguiri, my wife, me and Craig Krenzel.

As you look at the picture, you might notice the beard from Hannah's baptism has been chugging along. I'm not sure where it is going yet, but my brother and I are talking about a bike race in late November and I need to definitely have the face cover if we are to bike out in the snow.

Hannah is continuing to grow up, and now is becoming more vocal. Watch the video if you want to hear her new squealing noise. Such a happy baby!

This week was also our university "dairy challenge". Dairy challenge is a student competition where undergraduates go onto dairy farms and use their class knowledge in an applied evaluation of the farm as a team. Observations on animal well-being, reproduction, labor management, nutrition, feed storage, milk protocols, and records lead to presentations guiding the farmer for future planning based on their goals and strengths/weaknesses. This event helps develop students that hope to have a future in the dairy industry gain practical experience to prepare them for the workforce. Here, veterinary students are also invited, and I tagged along. So let me get on my soapbox for a few minutes...

Veterinary students are health professionals, but they often don't get the full picture of what goes on at a farm. This is because we are not training veterinarians to be farm advisors, completely knowledgeable about nutrition or reproduction, but rather to be serving for the health of the animals on a farm. Is health related to nutrition, or reproduction, or labor management? Certainly, but unless a veterinary student realizes these deficiencies in coursework and goes to great lengths to serve internships or extracurricular activities such as dairy challenge, they might never be exposed to this area. And yet, once they graduate, they will either volunteer or be expected to provide guidance to farmers on nutrition. This is a mistake, as many experienced vets will tell you. Vets should combine with nutritionists to provide the best guidance as a team, building on strengths and weaknesses. My props to those vet students who broadened their horizon by joining the buses to the dairy challenge this year, and thanks to Cargill for your involvement in the event.

Off my soapbox - a few pictoral examples of things students pick up on (or don't) at these farms.

Poor ventilation in this barn. As it turns out, many of the fans weren't working, and this combined with inappropriate curtain usage that inhibited "tunnel" airflow in the barn.

Bunk face the size of Texas. Bunk faces are where the feed mixer is collecting feedstuffs (silage) to put in the mixer wagon. On this farm, they were doing it by hand, with a 100 yard bunk face. I would guess feed wastage due to mold to be 10%, regardless of the labor lost in doing the face by hand.

Temple Grandin would have been very happy with the pathway to the milking parlor... EXCEPT - the highest producing cows walked at least a quarter mile to get milked. But great texturing to prevent the cows (or students) from slipping.

The biggest accomplishment this week at work came on a more unique front. As you recall, I have been working with my of my undergraduate interns on adapting a microscope for HD video capture on a budget so that we can determine the activity, density and volume of protozoa from the rumen. We care about this because protozoa provide protein to the cow and we struggle to know how much protein they provide because we have so much conditional variation in outflow abundance, size and nitrogen (protein). Well, I was struggling with how to get the camera adapted to our own lab microscope without using electric tape to lock it on there. I wanted the camera to actually latch down into the monocular and remain there, securely. When in doubt, turn to Google - I came back with this...

I was intrigued, and so I read all the way through. Turns out, that the kid who wrote these instructions wanted to prove that the video setup on a microscope actually worked. So he built a foam connecter, hollowed out a camera body cover, glued it all together and set it on his microscope. And then video-recorded his sperm swimming on a slide plate. Yep, you heard me right. Recorded his sperm on a video and loaded it to YouTube to prove that his camera adapater worked. I would say that is daring or some sort of awesome, but in the end I am just disturbed, appropriately summed up by the comment under his instructions, "Please tell me those aren't your sperm..."

I have to hand it to the kid - it worked. I did a few modifications, mostly because after I glanced through the instructions I never looked back at them. I ran over to the hardware store, picked up paint, PVC pipe and camera body caps. Unfortunately, the guys at Cord down by campus can kind of be idiots sometimes and they sent me out the door the first time with the front-end lens cap instead of the body cap. A bit frustrating, but it only set me back an afternoon. Punching out the plastic inside the body cap was easier than I thought it would be, and then my 2" PVC pipe fit in smoothly. I put it snug against the cap and glued the two together with super glue. Then to shade out the light we made a cardboard skirt and glued this around the base where the PVC would slide into the monocular. And then we spray painted the whole thing in flat black. The video quality isn't any better than using electric tape to secure the camera to the monocular, but the camera is snugly fit onto the microscope now. Great find online and a great save, a manufactured adaptor costs about $500 and I made ours for about $20.

Hannah and her uncle.

As this post is getting a little long, I will close that we took our annual trip to Louisville for the NAILE, and my family showed our Shropshires again this year. Hannah got to meet many new animal friends, including a ram that was fascinated with her and some ducklings. We played cards around the show box, ate beef jerky and drank Dr. Pepper. And my brother got some great placings with sheep he bred and raised himself back at home. Our sheep are moving up in the world, and it largely due to the dedication of my siblings in the show ring and visiting other farms. I know I say this all the time, but this lifestyle develops leaders with strong character. They are both going to be great in whatever they do later in life.

Hannah and Clarence in Louisville.