Applied Human Science
Print ISSN : 1341-3473
Volume 16, Issue 2
Displaying 1-5 of 5 articles from this issue
ORIGINALS
  • Yutaka Takashima, Akatsuki Kokaze, Yasuhiko Iwase, Eiichi Okada, Mamor ...
    1997 Volume 16 Issue 2 Pages 47-53
    Published: 1997
    Released on J-STAGE: September 28, 2001
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    To investigate whether blood pressure differs by taking preferred alcoholic beverage among habitual drinkers, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were compared among groups with different beverage types in 563 middle-aged Japanese males using data from a cross-sectional health survey conducted from February, 1989 through March, 1991 in five areas of Japan. Mean values of SBP and DBP, adjusted for residence, age and body mass index (BMI), were significantly greater in ‘exclusively sake’ drinkers (adjusted SBP: 127.2 mmHg, adjusted DBP: 83.0 mmHg) and in ‘exclusively shochu’ drinkers (adjusted SBP: 127.5 mmHg, adjusted DBP: 84.2 mmHg) than in non-drinkers (adjusted SBP: 120.9 mmHg, adjusted DBP: 77.3 mmHg). Adjusted SBP and DBP of ‘exclusively beer’ drinkers (adjusted SBP: 121.9 mmHg, adjusted DBP: 79.1 mmHg) were significantly (for SBP: p=0.016, for DBP: p=0.008) lower than those of ‘exclusively sake’ drinkers. Similar patterns of blood pressure differences between five beverage types of habitual drinkers were found especially in the group with less than 150 g of weekly ethyl-alcohol consumption. Even after adding ethyl-alcohol consumption as a covariate among 479 habitual drinkers, the significant differences in adjusted SBP and DBP between ‘exclusively beer’ drinkers and ‘exclusively sake’ drinkers (for SBP: p=0.032, for DBP: p=0.044) were noted. These results may suggest that the effects of drinking on blood pressure differ by beverage type in middle-aged Japanese males.
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  • Shigekazu Higuchi, Shigeki Watanuki, Akira Yasukouchi, Masahiko Sato
    1997 Volume 16 Issue 2 Pages 55-60
    Published: 1997
    Released on J-STAGE: September 28, 2001
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The purpose of the present study was to investigate an inverted-U relationship between contingent negative variation (CNV) and arousal level which was influenced by extraneous environment. As an extraneous stimulant, stimulation by light was adopted, and five levels of luminance conditions, 10 cd/m2, 100 cd/m2, 320 cd/m2, 1, 000 cd/m2, and 1, 800 cd/m2 were provided randomly. Under five luminance conditions, seven subjects who had been accustomed a measurement of CNV executed simple reaction time tasks to evoke CNV. Outside CNV, spontaneous EEG prior to S1 was measured as an indicator for arousal level. As a result, a negative correlation existed between the logarithm of luminance and the relative power value of α waves at Fz. Otherwise, an increase in luminance caused an increase in CNV amplitude until the luminance level reached 320 cd/m2, beyond which however CNV amplitude was found to decrease. These tendencies were most remarkable in the phase of early CNV at Fz. The low amplitude of early CNV seen in the high luminance conditions was inferred to have been induced by excessive arousal state because of the low relative power value of α waves, while the low amplitude in the low luminance conditions was inferred to have been induced by low arousal state because of the high relative power value of α waves. However, changes in arousal level by light stimulus caused no effect on reaction time. From these findings, it was suggested that a definite “inverted-U” relationship existed between the change in arousal level by light stimulation and resultant CNV, and that it could be discriminated as to whether reduction in CNV is caused by excessive arousal effect of environment by analyzing spontaneous EEG preceding S1.
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  • Xiaojiang Xu, Jürgen Werner
    1997 Volume 16 Issue 2 Pages 61-75
    Published: 1997
    Released on J-STAGE: September 28, 2001
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In this paper a dynamic model of the human/clothing/environment-system is developed. The human body (controlled system) is subdivided into six segments consisting of the head, trunk, arms, hands, legs and feet. Each segment is further divided into the core, muscle, fat, and skin layer. The afferent signal of the controlling system is composed of the weighted temperatures measured by thermal receptors at sites distributed in the body. The difference between this signal and its threshold activates the thermoregulatory actions: vasomotor changes, metabolic heat production and sweat production. The model considers the competition between skin and muscle blood flow during exercise in hot environments because of limited cardiac capacity, as well as cold induced vasodilatation. Additionally a combined model of heat and mass transfer from the skin through clothing to the environment is developed and incorporated into the thermoregulatory model. The human/clothing model can be used to investigate the interaction between the human body, clothing and environment. The model is validated by comparing the simulation with experimental results under different conditions: heat, cold, exercise, clothing and transient phases. It turns out that the simulation is compatible with the experimental results. We conclude that the model can be applied in a broad range of environmental conditions. Application of the model is easy via a user-friendly interface i.e. a WINDOWS-shell.
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  • Masahide Imaki, Yukie Yoshida, Seiki Tanada
    1997 Volume 16 Issue 2 Pages 77-81
    Published: 1997
    Released on J-STAGE: September 28, 2001
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The relation between smoking and periodontal disease as classified by the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) code was investigated in 1, 611 Japanese male factory workers in Osaka, 20-59 years of age. The Simplified Debris Index (DI-S) according to the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index was employed as an index for the quantity of dental plaque. For the items related to smoking, a self-reporting form on smoking, the number of years of smoking, and the number of cigarettes smoked was distributed prior to the oral examination. Our results indicated the following: in the group with a poor state of oral hygiene, the negative effects of smoking were evident, resulting in unhealthy periodontal tissue. We believe that this result further confirms the contention that the removal of dental plaque is most important as a prophylaxis for periodontal diseases, and public education about this negative consequertce of smoking will further strengthen prophylactic measures.
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