The present study investigated the relationship between changes in rumen fill score (RFS) during the dry period and peripartum metabolic status, postpartum disease, and recovery of reproductive function in dairy cows. Based on the RFS at 3-4 weeks before calving, 35 multiparous Holstein cows were classified into 4 groups as follows : high (≥3.5, H) or low (≤3.0, L), and maintained (M) or changed (C) RFS (HM, n＝6 ; HC, n＝9 ; LM, n＝5 ; and LC, n＝15). The LM group had lower glucose (P＝0.05) and higher β-hydroxybutyrate acid (P<0.05) levels than the HM group, and two LM cows did not ovulate during the experimental period. The HC group had lower albumin levels (P<0.05) than HM. In the LC group, a greater number of cows developed postpartum disease than the LM group (LM, n＝2 ; LC, n＝10), and overall there was a lower milk yield (P<0.1) in LC than LM. Taken together, dairy cows with low and/or changing RFS during the dry period have lower energy status, higher disease risk, lower milk yield, and delayed resumption of ovarian activity after calving than groups with high and/or unchanging RFS.

Some anthocyanins have been reported to show antioxidant activity and to enhance antioxidant enzyme activity. This study examined the effects of diets including black-hulled rice, which contains abundant anthocyanin, on digestibility, ruminal fermentation, and oxidative status markers in sheep. Six wethers were used in a replicated 3×3 Latin square design with three dietary treatments : a diet containing 40% anthocyanin-free and hulled rice, one containing 40% black-hulled rice, and one containing an equal mixture of anthocyanin-free and black-hulled rice. Increasing the proportion of black-hulled rice led to total dry matter digestibility and total digestible nutrients content, whereas the nutrient digestibilities (crude protein, ether extracts, non-fibrous carbohydrate, starch, acid detergent fiber, and neutral detergent fiber) did not differ significantly among the dietary treatments. In each diet, starch was digested almost completely (>99.5%). There were no significant differences among the diets in any parameters of ruminal fermentation, such as pH, ammonia concentration, and volatile fatty acids concentrations and ratios. Feeding with black-hulled rice increased the activity of superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme, although the total antioxidant capacity and degree of oxidative damage were identical among the three diets. These findings suggest that black-hulled rice has strong potential to be used as a source of both starch and antioxidants in ruminants.

This study examined the effects of different levels of four minerals used for curing on the water holding capacity and textural properties of beef (M. biceps femoris) from Japanese shorthorn steers (n＝10). Muscle samples (40g) were cured with three levels (2%, 4%, or 6% of muscle weight) of NaCl, MgCl₂, MgSO₄, or CaSO₄ for 3 days. Drip loss, maximum load, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, and load of gumminess in the muscle samples were then analyzed. The highest drip loss was found in muscle samples cured with CaSO₄ ; the lowest drip loss was found in muscle samples cured with MgCl₂. The load of gumminess in muscle samples cured with 6% MgSO₄ was significantly lower than in those cured with NaCl.

A survey of urban residents in Japan and China was carried out from July to November 2018 for the purpose of comparing consumer behavior in relation to pork in the two countries. The survey results showed consumers in both countries had high palatability of pork and a high pork intake frequency. In Japan, consumers eat other meat with similar frequency to pork. On the other hand, Chinese consumers overwhelmingly consume more pork, while the frequency of other meat consumption is relatively low. In addition, the concern for the safety of the food is common among the two countries, and attention to “the country of origin” label was of high importance at the time of the purchasing pork. Although Japanese consumers have a preference for domestic products, Chinese consumers recognize a high level of food safety associated with imported pork. As a result, Chinese consumers’ experience in purchasing imported pork was rated higher than that of Japanese consumers.

Although the Japanese Black cattle in Hyogo prefecture has been closed to the other subpopulations since early times, remarkable inbreeding depression has not been reported. However, more rapid increase of inbreeding will be unavoidable if genetic diversity of the population is conserved by the establishment of several strains, where mating is basically carried out within each strain. Therefore, information about the genetic load of the population should be valuable. In this study, lethal equivalents affecting mortality in early life were estimated for the population. Intercept (A) and slope (B) of regression developed by Morton et al. (1956) were estimated to be 0.058 and 0.111 by the weighted least squares technique, and 0.033 and 0.000 by maximum likelihood method. From these estimates, lethal equivalents of the population were estimated to be 0.222～0.338 and 0.000～0.066 per zygote, respectively. Relatively small number of lethal equivalents were considered to be responsible for the two reasons. The first one is that deleterious recessive alleles might be culled by the selection against recessive homozygotes frequently produced by inbreeding. The second one is that many deleterious alleles might be disappeared from the population by chance because of the strong selection for economic traits.