A Closer Look

By Marianna Jahnke and Dr. Tyler Dohlman, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University

Who has not gotten frustrated with a straw exploding or issues with loading a direct transfer 0.25-cc straw? Last year we had some problems with the yellow 0.25-cc DT straws that are commercially sterilized and repackaged in groups. We had a few straws exploding, and within those straws we noticed that the cotton plugs and the PVC were separating during the loading process. As we were pulling the last column of ethylene glycol, the ethylene glycol kept going through the cotton plugs into the syringe as seen on the images. As we all have been trained and continue to train others, it is important to make sure fluid penetrates the PVC and cotton plugs in order to create a good seal to the straw. With this issue, our concerns were that the straws were not sealing properly, leaving them at an increased risk of exploding during the thawing process or even potentially allowing liquid nitrogen to enter the straw. This is probably not new information to some of you who have been in the industry for some time and it probably has been discussed over the years, but this was our first major straw issue. In addition, we have noticed other straws from other ET practitioners that seem to be doing the same thing, with a cotton plug being exposed at the end of the straw or gone completely.

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Is the exposure time of bovine embryos to ethylene glycol (EG) prior to freezing and/or after thawing critical to survival?

John F. Hasler

Efficient and efficacious cryopreservation of bovine embryos is critical to the commercial ET industry because, as shown by the most recent AETA statistics (2011), 72% of embryos were frozen following collection versus only 28% that were transferred fresh into recipients. Following the published report of Voelkel and Hu in 1992 on cryopreservation with EG, the commercial bovine ET industry rather quickly switched from glycerol to EG as the major cryoprotectant in freezing media. The overall percentage of embryos frozen in EG rose rapidly starting in 1992 and reached 97% in 2008, the last year that the AETA collected data on this specific statistic.

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By Karen Rockey

Let’s face it, without our cryogenic tanks, we would not be in business. So let’s take a little time to discuss the tanks we use for export shipping of embryos.

Small dry shippers and Dobles are most widely used for domestic transportation and shipping to neighboring countries, because of their size and non hazardous status. Unfortunately, they have limited hold times. Knowing the hold time is very important. If you have issues in customs, or papers are lost, a hold time of 14 – 17 days doesn’t give you much time to rectify the situation.

One of the items available (and recommended for all wide mouth dry shippers), is the cabosil insert. When fully absorbed with nitrogen and placed inside the tank with the embryos, it will give the tank a little extra time of charge. Insurance may also require the use of these inserts. I am not sure if others are making these now, but our source has been Chart/MVE.

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By Meredith Griffin PT, DPT

Shoulder pain is a very common issue. Every day in the clinic, I see at least one patient with complaints of shoulder pain and the only other diagnosis I see more frequently is low back pain. Shoulder pain can be brought on by a variety of causes, including over use, trauma, and aging. Veterinarians, especially ET practitioners, are highly susceptible to the former of the three. Despite the cause, the progression of therapy is generally the same.

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By Mid-Maryland Vets

I had a weird experience at an early morning herd check.  Donald was bouncing off the walls, talking a mile a minute, yelling, and sprinting like a mad man.  He bragged about the all-nighter he spent out in the fields before coming home to milk and prep for herd check.  He had popped a few caffeine pills chased with black coffee an hour before to amp him up for the morning which explained his nuclear energy level.  I think I could even see his heart trying to explode out of his chest. A visit to another farmer during late spring revealed a completely run-down, exhausted, incoherent mess of a man barely able to function.  But like the aforementioned spastic man, this fellow also bragged about his lack of sleep.  Most farmers and a few veterinarians love to brag about the all-nighters and present their lack of sleep like a badge of honor.  They believe that pushing through exhaustion by extending the work day and depriving themselves of sleep makes them more productive.  In reality, sleep deprivation makes us less productive.

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