Determination of relationships between rumination and milk fat concentration and fatty acid profile using data from commercial rumination sensing systems.

Milk fat production is highly influenced by nutrition and rumen fermentation. Rumination is an essential part of the ruminant digestive process and can serve as an indicator of rumen fermentation. The objective of this research was to quantify variation in rumination time between and within dairy herds and test for relationships between rumination time and milk fat production and fatty acid (FA) profile as a proxy of rumen fermentation.

Relationships between milk fat and rumination time recorded by commercial rumination sensing systems.

Low rumination in the dairy cow is often assumed to result in reduction of saliva flow, rumen buffering, and milk fat, which is a major contributor to milk value in many pricing systems. Rumination time (RT) of individual cows can be measured with commercial rumination sensing systems, but our understanding of how daily RT (minutes per day) is related to milk fat production is limited. Our hypothesis was that between cows within a herd, greater RT would be associated with lower milk fat concentration.

Technical note: Method for improving precision of in-parlor milk meters and adjusting milk weights for stall effects.

Milk yield is a fundamental observation in most dairy experiments and is commonly determined using integrated milk meters that measure milk weight as the cow is being milked. These meters are heavily used in a harsh environment and often are not regularly calibrated, so calibration errors and mechanical problems may create artificial variation in milk weight data. Additionally, direct calibration by collection of milk in a bucket is difficult and imperfect because the use of the bucket may affect yield recorded by the milk meter.

Solar-powered ventilation of African termite mounds.

How termite mounds function to facilitate climate control is still only partially understood. Recent experimental evidence in the mounds of a single species, the south Asian termite , suggests that the daily oscillations of radiant heating associated with diurnal insolation patterns drive convective flow within them. How general this mechanism is remains unknown.

The conversion to electronic hospital notes at Mayo Clinic. Overcoming barriers and challenges.

This article describes the conversion to electronic hospital notes at a large, multi-specialty group practice: Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Because of the size of the institution and the barriers to the adoption of electronic notes, the process was a gradual one that took several years. Making a convincing case for change to institutional leaders and maintaining their support was crucial to success.