Aging society is coming rapidly in Japan. However there is little study about the physical loads of nursing the bed-bound old at home.
In this study, we measured RMR and EMG activities of M. erector spinae of seven care givers. The results were as follows : (1) mean RMR of care givers was more than 4; (2) RMR was the highest when working directly on the floor, next highest when working on a bed 50 cm high, and lowest when working on a bed 65 cm high; (3) the easiest nursing task was, laying elders from back to side, then bringing elders from bed to chair, and helping them sit up respectively; (4) the comparison by EMG activities indicated that as the work surface became lower, there was more silence.

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Physical properties of the pastes of potato starch were investigated by using the multi-biting test.
Pastes of potato starch have peculiar gelatinization characteristics and complex rheological properties compared with many other starch pastes. These peculiar physical properties of the pastes of potato starch could be analyzed by using the viscoelastic parameters of the multi-biting test already reported.
Potato starch was easily swelled and gelatinized, and apparent viscosity of the pastes of potato starch were declined linearly by heating 40 min at the temperature of 70°C with ascending the temperature, owing to the easy breakdown of the starch pastes. On the contrary, by adding 1 or 2% NaCl, apparent viscosity of potato starch pastes ascended linearly in the temperature from 70 to 80°C and finally declined at 90°C. By adding 0.1 % palmitic acid Na-salt, apparent viscosity of potato starch pastes ascended linearly depending on the temperature rise and sharply ascended at 90°C. These rheological behavior based on not only gelatinization character but also the gel structure of the pastes of potato starch, can also be analyzed by the elastic parameter and the parameter of adhesiveness of the multi-biting test.
Effect of the additives to the rheological behavior of the pastes of potato starch treated at 98°C for 30 min heating in wet conditions indicated the complicated relations between additives and gelatinization characters of potato starch pastes.

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Butter head lettuce was stored in a refrigerator under controlled temperature (2, 5, or 8°C) and humidity (40, 60, or 80% RH). After a storage period of 4 to 10 days, a sensory evaluation on the quality of the lettuce for wilting, yellowing and injury was made. The loss in weight and contents of vitamin C and chlorophylls were also determined.
After storage, deterioration in appearance was observed, the weight, and the amounts of vitamin C and that of chlorophyll decreased. The lower the temperature and the higher the humidity, the more the quality was retained. The rate of decrease in vitamin C content was affected by temperature more than by humidity. On the other hand, the rate in chlorophyll content was affected by humidity more than by temperature. There were high correlations between the results of the sensory test for the three items and the values obtained from chemical analysis.

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Previously, we reported the desirable period and temperature for Murashi. We report here the effects of prolonging period of Murashi on rice cooking. The results are as follows :
(1) As the Murashi period increased, evaporation of water increased and hence the final weight of cooked rice decreased. Loss of water by evaporation out of the rice cooker decreased gradually whereas the condensed water at the rice-cooker's lid increased.
(2) The top layers of cooked rice near the surface of the pot brim became moist and tender. This could be due to the fall of condensed water, causing the local differences in the texture of cooked rice in a rice cooker.
(3) The decrease in temperature due to prolonged Murashi period lowered the loss of water by evaporation on stirring.
(4) The adhesiveness of the cooked rice grains increased by prolonged Murashi period and this led to an undesirable firm texture.

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Salted dried fishes are widely popular in Japan because of their characteristic Umami and texture. They are produced by drying the salted fishes, which were performed by a dry salting method or a brine salting method. Samples were prepared by drying horse mackerel fillets at 35°C for 10 to 180 min after sprinkling with 7% of salt over fish meat or after immersing the fish meat in 15% salt solution. The hardness of samples was measured with a texturometer and the texture and the taste were evaluated by sensory test. The fishes treated by the dry salting method required short time for drying as compared with those by the brine salting method. When drysalted sample was roasted, the hardness increased with increase of the salting and the drying periods, however, it was hardly affected by the salting period but affected by the drying period in the case of brine-salted one. The texturometer curves of two samples differed each other. The taste of dry-salted fishes was preferred to that of the brine-salted fish though two samples had the same moisture content and salt concentration, and the preference for the brine-salted fishes was improved by prolonging the drying period. These results suggest that hardness of a salted dried fish might be the largest factor affecting its preference.

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The purpose of this study is to make a quantitative study of local food and nutrition in Edo Period, based on a data base processed from “Bocho Fudo Chushin-an” (a geographical description and local history of Chasha-han compiled in 1840s). The average individual food supply (per capita per day) was estimated by dividing total food production estimated in the previous studies by population (523, 000) and further divided by the number of days per year (365). The individual nutrition supply was estimated in reference to Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (third edition).
The daily food supply of individual can be summarized as follows : cereals, 465.1 g; sweet potatoes and starch, 71.9 g; nuts and seeds, 0.6 g; pulses, 22.6 g; fishes and shellfishes, 12.5 g; meat, 3.7 g; eggs, 0.1 g; vegetables, 179.5 g; fruits, 8.1 g; fungi, 0.2 g; algae, 1.0 g and beverages, 95 ml. This result shows that people in those days lived on rice and barley.
The daily nutrition supply of individual was 1, 861 kcal of energy, 52.4 g of protein, 11.3 g of lipid, 284 mg of calcium, 10 mg of iron, 1, 603 I.U. of retional potency, 1.62 mg of thiamin, 0.66 mg of riboflavin and 100 mg of ascorbic acid. Cereals formed 86.4% of total energy, and lipid 5.5%. Animal protein was only 5.7% of total protein supply. It was clarified that their living depended chiefly on cereals.

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The primary hazards associated with fires where bedding or upholstered furnitures would be first ignited are burning cigarettes. Therefore, the heat propagating behaviors in fiber assemblies from burning cigarettes were observed in the self-sustained smoldering processes under various conditions.
The results are summarized as follows :
(1) The heat from a burning cigarette propagates in fiber assemblies with the highest rate horizontally and with the lowest rate downward.
(2) The temperature is higher when fiber assemblies are exposed to the air than when covered, especially in the upward direction, while the heat accumulation is more when covered, showing the largest accumulation in the upward direction.
(3) The maximum temperature and heat accumulation observed in the upward and horizontal heat propagation enhance with increase in density and thickness of stuffed fiber assemblies, but the downward propagation shows slightly decrease when the thickness is 4 cm or more.
(4) The moisture content of fiber does not give any significant effect on the temperature and heat accumulation.
(5) The maxium temperature, heat accumulation and weight loss after the combustion of cotton fiber assemblies are considerably decreased by b lending polyester fibers.

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The authors washed blankets with four new flow type washing machines and compared the rinsing effect by detecting the residual concentration of detergent in the waste water.
Acrylic blankets were used, and the washing procedures were followed the washing program of each washing machine.
HPLC was applied to analyzing the detergent concentration.
The results obtained were as follows :
(1) In the washing of blankets, the differences in rinsing effect of four flow types' washing machines are not obvious. Rinsing is more effective by dehydration after washing and during rinsing process.
(2) Rinsing effect of using washing net is more remarkable than that of each flow type washing machine.

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Factor and cluster analyses were applied to the body measurements below the waistline obtained from 229 females aged 18 to 20, to classified the body type from the waist to the thigh, for the purpose of evaluating the skirt silhouette in wear.
By means of Ward and k-means method, the subjects were classified into 13 clusters according to the factor scores, which were obtained from 8 factors, providing the information of 28 items. These 13 clusters were divided into several sub-clusters, depending mainly on girths of the body from the waistline to the thigh : 2 clusters for the persons of small size, 8 for the persons of medium size, 3 for the persons of large size. The differences in balance among body parts, or those between breadth and depth of each parts, based on the raw data of these clusters, were observed, even though the waist girth and/or the hip girth were nearly the same size.

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Many ways of seam-finishing are used in sewing. The opening of a seam is one of them. For the most part, the seam-finishing brings about a loss in the width of sewn fabric. In this paper, the loss phenomena in the opening of a seam were investigated.
The results obtained are as follows :
(1) The loss in the width of a sewn fabric increases as the number of the stitch or the seam line increases.
(2) The loss in the width of a sewn fabric increases as the thickness of fabric increases.
From these results, it is considered that the loss in the width of sewn fabric could be prevented if the number of seams, the stitch density and the thickness of fabric were taken into consideration in pattern-making and dress-making.

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A basic pattern making of upper trunk (short-measurement drafting system) was conceived using only human body measurements. We presumed that a closely and simply covered garment was a nearly developable surface similar to polyhedron, and applied the principles of surface development method, with the consideration of the characteristics of fabrics and the simplicity in clothing pattern making. Body measurements, drafting and wearing tests were done. Waist line was assumed as horizontal. Body surface lengths which use for drafting of development were measured with a measuring tape. Plan views for development were made by the horizontal cross-sections of different parts of upper trunk being drafted by 3-dimensional measuring apparatus. Basic pattern contour was drafted using width of pattern determined by the plan views and tape-measured values. Waist darts, from plan views, were entered in basic pattern. The test was conducted on the right half of body, using nine plasters models and one “body.”
Results were found mostly appropriate, but some shortage was noted in outside cloth due to sewing allowance. In conclusion, extra 0.1-0.2 cm was added to 4 items of shoulder part. The reported system will effectively serve not only for individual pattern makings, and for the determination of data notation of upper trunk models, but also for the correction of proportionally-drafted basic patterns and scrutiny of drafting systems.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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