Cetaceans are well adapted to their hyperosmotic environment by properly developed osmoregulatory ability. A question here is how they regulate water and mineral balances in marine habitats. In the present study, we determined blood and urine levels of various chemicals involved in osmoregulation, compared them with those in artiodactyls, and characterized the values in the whales. Blood and urine samples obtained from baleen whales of common minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), sei (B. borealis), and Bryde's whales (B. brydei), and toothed whales of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) were analyzed for osmolality, major electrolytes, urea, steroid hormones and glucose. The urine osmolality and Na + concentrations in the cetaceans were much higher than those in the cattle. Furthermore, the cetaceans had 5 to 11-fold urea in plasma than the cattle, and 2 to 4-fold urea in urine.There were no significant difference in the plasma concentrations of corticosteroids between the cetaceans and the cattle. The present results indicate that the osmoregulatory parameters seem to be not affected by the reproductive stage and sex steroid hormones. The concentrations of urea in plasma and urine of the baleen whales were higher than those of the sperm whales, indicating a possibility that their osmoregulatory mechanisms may be correlated to their feeding habits. The present results suggest that cetaceans have unique osmoregulatory mechanisms by which they excrete strongly hypertonic urine to maintain fluid homeostasis in marine habitats.

There has been a need in recent years for a method that will enable dairy farmers to monitor milk quality of individual cow during milking. We constructed a near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic sensing system for online monitoring of milk quality on an experimental basis. This system enables NIR spectra of unhomogenized milk to be obtained during milking over a wavelength range of 600-1050 nm. We developed calibration models for predicting three major milk constituents (fat, protein and lactose), somatic cell count (SCC) and milk urea nitrogen (MUN) of unhomogenized milk, and we validated the precision and accuracy of the models. The coefficient of determination (r 2 ) and standard error of prediction (SEP) of the validation set were obtained: for fat, r 2 = 0.95, SEP = 0.42%; for protein, r 2 = 0.91, SEP = 0.09%; for lactose, r 2 = 0.94, SEP = 0.05%; for SCC, r 2 = 0.82, SEP = 0.27 log SCC/mL; and for MUN, r 2 = 0.90, SEP = 1.33 mg/dL, respectively. These results indicated that the NIR spectroscopic sensing system developed in this study could be used to monitor milk quality in real-time during milking. The system can provide dairy farmers with information on milk quality and physiological condition of each cow and therefore give them feedback control for producing milk of high quality and for optimizing dairy farm management.

This study evaluated the suitability of easily digested fiber sources as a supplemental fiber to improve overall fiber digestion in ruminants. First, the degradation of five fibrous feedstuffs and the stimulatory effects on rumen bacteria were examined in situ. Chickpea and lablab bean husks were selected for their potential use due to their large degradable fraction (>94%), which had a stimulatory effect on fibrolytic rumen bacteria such as Fibrobacter succinogenes. Second, a possible improvement in the digestibility of rice straw diet by husk supplementation was monitored in vivo. Four dietary treatments comprising RS (rice straw and concentrate), CHM (RS supplemented with Myanmar chickpea husk), CHE (RS with Egyptian chickpea husk) and LH (RS with lablab bean husk) were allocated to four wethers. The digestibility of acid detergent fiber was 3.1-5.5% greater in CHM and LH than RS. Total volatile fatty acid concentration was higher in LH than other treatments. Acetate proportion was higher in LH than RS. Ruminal abundance of F. succinogenes was 1.3-1.5 times greater in CHM and LH than RS. These results suggest that bean husk supplementation, especially lablab bean husk, might improve the nutritive value of rice straw diet by stimulating fibrolytic bacteria.

To obtain basic knowledge about selecting horses for therapeutic riding, the influence of equine conformation on rider oscillation and relationships between these factors and the evaluation on horses as the therapeutic riding were studied. Thirty-five riding horses were used. Equine conformation was estimated by 24 indices. Rider oscillation was measured by an accelerometer fixed at the rider’s waist. The spatial position of the oscillation was estimated by a double integration of the acceleration. Horses were evaluated for therapeutic riding by a Riding for the Disabled Association instructor as a rider. Evaluations were on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score for 27 items. Horses were classified into 4 groups: the short and narrow (SN), short and wide (SW), tall and narrow (TN), and tall and wide (TW). The frequencies of rider oscillation both at walk and trot were higher (P<0.01), and the vertical (P<0.01) and longitudinal (P<0.05) amplitudes at trot were smaller, on short horses than on tall horses. The vertical amplitude at walk was smaller (P<0.05) and the lateral amplitude at trot was larger (P<0.01) on wide horses than on narrow horses. Short horses could be used for the rider who requires side walkers. Wide horses could be used for relieving muscular tension and for the rider who could not maintain good balance on the horse. Short and wide horses should be suitable for therapeutic riding.

Six Thoroughbred horses were used to determine the mean retention time (MRT) of digesta in the different segments of the hindgut. The horses were fed timothy hay or silage in equal amounts (1.6% bodyweight [BW]/day) every 3 h/day. Hay or silage labeled with the rare earth elements cerium, dysprosium, neodymium, ytterbium, lanthanum, samarium and praseodymium, were fed to the horses 36, 30, 24, 18, 12, 6 and 3 h before slaughter, respectively. Just after slaughter, digesta samples in the different segments were collected and determined for the contents of the rare earth elements. Using these data, a method to calculate the MRT in the different segments was proposed. There were no significant differences between diets in the MRT of each segment. The averaged MRT of hay and silage in the cecum, right ventral colon, left ventral colon, left dorsal colon, right dorsal colon and small colon was 2.9, 3.1, 5.9, 1.0, 4.0, and 4.0 h, respectively. The dry matter weight of the digesta was related to the MRT in the right ventral colon (r = 0.94, P = 0.005), left ventral colon (r = 0.87, P = 0.03), left dorsal colon (r = 0.98, P < 0.001) and right dorsal colon (r = 0.95, P = 0.004), but it was not related to the MRT in the cecum and small colon.