Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration Emissions
In the modern pig reproduction system, artificial insemination (AI) doses are delivered from AI centers to sow farms via logistics vehicles. In this study, six breeding companies in three countries (Brazil, Germany, and the USA) were interviewed about their delivery process. It was found that there...
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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Series: | Animals |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/10/1331 |
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author | Tim Hafemeister Paul Schulze Ralf Bortfeldt Christian Simmet Markus Jung Frank Fuchs-Kittowski Martin Schulze |
author_facet | Tim Hafemeister Paul Schulze Ralf Bortfeldt Christian Simmet Markus Jung Frank Fuchs-Kittowski Martin Schulze |
author_sort | Tim Hafemeister |
collection | DOAJ |
description | In the modern pig reproduction system, artificial insemination (AI) doses are delivered from AI centers to sow farms via logistics vehicles. In this study, six breeding companies in three countries (Brazil, Germany, and the USA) were interviewed about their delivery process. It was found that there is currently no comprehensive monitoring system for the delivery of semen. The entire process “shipping of boar semen” was documented using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). Although it is not currently known which vibrations occur at all, it is suspected that vibration emissions affect the quality of boar semen. For this reason, a prototype of a measuring system was developed to calculate a displacement index (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i>), representing vibration intensities. Vibrations were analyzed in standardized road trials (<i>n</i> = 120) on several road types (A: smooth asphalt pavement, B: rough asphalt pavement, C: cobblestone, and D: dirt road) with different speeds (30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 km/h). A two-way ANOVA showed significant differences in mean <i>D<sub>i</sub></i>, depending on road surface and speed as well as an interaction of both factors (<i>p</i> < 0.001). A field study on a reference delivery from a German AI center to several sow farms indicated that 33% of the observed roads are in good quality and generate only a few vibrations (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i> ≤ 1), while 40% are of a moderate quality with interrupted surfaces (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i> = 1–1.5). However, 25% of the roads show markedly increased vibrations (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i> ≥ 1.5), as a consequence of bad conditions on cobblestones or unpaved roads. Overall, more attention should be paid to factors affecting sperm quality during transport. In the future, an Internet of Things (IoT) based solution could enable complete monitoring of the entire transport process in real time, which could influence the courier’s driving behavior based on road conditions in order to maintain the quality of the transported AI doses. |
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issn | 2076-2615 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:28:18Z |
publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
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spelling | doaj.art-6e0ee685d83d46169e38a6b8456180042023-11-23T09:47:22ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-05-011210133110.3390/ani12101331Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration EmissionsTim Hafemeister0Paul Schulze1Ralf Bortfeldt2Christian Simmet3Markus Jung4Frank Fuchs-Kittowski5Martin Schulze6Institute for Reproduction of Farm Animals Schönow, D-16321 Bernau, GermanyEnvironmental Informatics, Campus Wilhelminenhof, University of Applied Science, D-10313 Berlin, GermanyInstitute for Reproduction of Farm Animals Schönow, D-16321 Bernau, GermanyMinitüb GmbH, D-84184 Tiefenbach, GermanyInstitute for Reproduction of Farm Animals Schönow, D-16321 Bernau, GermanyEnvironmental Informatics, Campus Wilhelminenhof, University of Applied Science, D-10313 Berlin, GermanyInstitute for Reproduction of Farm Animals Schönow, D-16321 Bernau, GermanyIn the modern pig reproduction system, artificial insemination (AI) doses are delivered from AI centers to sow farms via logistics vehicles. In this study, six breeding companies in three countries (Brazil, Germany, and the USA) were interviewed about their delivery process. It was found that there is currently no comprehensive monitoring system for the delivery of semen. The entire process “shipping of boar semen” was documented using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). Although it is not currently known which vibrations occur at all, it is suspected that vibration emissions affect the quality of boar semen. For this reason, a prototype of a measuring system was developed to calculate a displacement index (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i>), representing vibration intensities. Vibrations were analyzed in standardized road trials (<i>n</i> = 120) on several road types (A: smooth asphalt pavement, B: rough asphalt pavement, C: cobblestone, and D: dirt road) with different speeds (30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 km/h). A two-way ANOVA showed significant differences in mean <i>D<sub>i</sub></i>, depending on road surface and speed as well as an interaction of both factors (<i>p</i> < 0.001). A field study on a reference delivery from a German AI center to several sow farms indicated that 33% of the observed roads are in good quality and generate only a few vibrations (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i> ≤ 1), while 40% are of a moderate quality with interrupted surfaces (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i> = 1–1.5). However, 25% of the roads show markedly increased vibrations (<i>D<sub>i</sub></i> ≥ 1.5), as a consequence of bad conditions on cobblestones or unpaved roads. Overall, more attention should be paid to factors affecting sperm quality during transport. In the future, an Internet of Things (IoT) based solution could enable complete monitoring of the entire transport process in real time, which could influence the courier’s driving behavior based on road conditions in order to maintain the quality of the transported AI doses.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/10/1331artificial inseminationboar sementransportvibrationsquality assurance |
spellingShingle | Tim Hafemeister Paul Schulze Ralf Bortfeldt Christian Simmet Markus Jung Frank Fuchs-Kittowski Martin Schulze Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration Emissions Animals artificial insemination boar semen transport vibrations quality assurance |
title | Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration Emissions |
title_full | Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration Emissions |
title_fullStr | Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration Emissions |
title_full_unstemmed | Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration Emissions |
title_short | Boar Semen Shipping for Artificial Insemination: Current Status and Analysis of Transport Conditions with a Major Focus on Vibration Emissions |
title_sort | boar semen shipping for artificial insemination current status and analysis of transport conditions with a major focus on vibration emissions |
topic | artificial insemination boar semen transport vibrations quality assurance |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/10/1331 |
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