The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between drinking behavior and the balance of decision making regarding drinking among female university students. The questionnaire survey was administered to each subject once per year from 2016 to 2018. The responses from the students of four universities in the Kansai and Kanto regions of the main island of Japan were analyzed. The contents of the survey included drinking habits, awareness of benefits (pros), and costs (cons) due to drinking. As students' years in the university progressed, they became more aware of the benefits of drinking, and the frequency of drinking increased. In both the second and third years, the pros “communication with acquaintances and friends” and “relaxation” were significantly correlated with drinking frequency (second years: r_s = 0.28, r_s = 0.25, third years: r_s = 0.24, r_s = 0.30, respectively); students who were more aware of these effects tended to drink more frequently. The pros “deliciousness” in the second year, and “increases appetite” in the third year, were also related to an increase in students' drinking frequency (r_s = 0.23, r_s = 0.28, respectively). A significant relationship between the drinking frequency and the total cons was observed in the second and third years (r_s = －0.23, r_s = －0.30, respectively). In both cases, the more conscious the students were of the cons, the less frequently they drank alcohol. The awareness of drinking behavior pros/cons may affect the drinking behavior of university students.

  Visceral sensory awareness can play an important role in relaxation. We examined the relationship between visceral sensory awareness, health management, and health behaviors using the experimental method. Awareness of heartbeats was used as a measure of the visceral sensory awareness.

  The participants of this study were 19 students. We employed a calculation task to induce a high arousal/stress condition and a breathing technique to induce a low arousal/relaxation condition, and awareness of heartbeats in both conditions was evaluated using a heartbeat tracking task. Heart rate and respiration rate were used as physiological measures, and the Affect Grid was used for subjective emotional evaluation. Health management and health behaviors were assessed using a questionnaire.

  The results showed that the low arousal/relaxation condition had a positive effect on participants' performance of the heartbeat tracking task. Correlational analysis showed a negative relationship between performance on the heartbeat tracking task and appropriate coping behaviors in the high arousal/stress condition, and a positive relationship between the performance on the heartbeat tracking task and appropriate coping behaviors in the low arousal/relaxation condition. We discuss the important role of visceral sensory awareness in relaxation, health management, and health behaviors.

  Skin cold stimulation (SCS) is an effective method for increasing electromyography (EMG) activity in walking. However, the effect of SCS on EMG response during stair climbing is unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effect of SCS on EMG response during stair climbing and compare the results with the change of EMG response in walking. Seventeen community-dwelling healthy older adults (73 ± 6 years old) participated in this study. All the participants performed stair climbing while EMG activity of the vastus lateralis (VL) was measured in SCS and without SCS (control; CON) condition. Furthermore, EMG data of stair climbing was compared with walking data. SCS significantly increased stair climbing speed upstairs (p = 0.035) and downstairs (p = 0.009). SCS increased root mean square EMG (rmsEMG) of VL from 0.098 ± 0.032 to 0.118 ± 0.042 mV (p < 0.01) and tended to decrease mean power frequency (MPF) of VL (p = 0.055) during upstairs climbing. SCS increased rmsEMG of VL from 0.065 ± 0.013 to 0.074 ± 0.019 mV (p < 0.01), but did not change MPF of VL (p = 0.358) during downstairs climbing. The change ratio was significantly different among walking and stair climbing (p = 0.020), and the ratio of rmsEMG of upstairs climbing was significantly greater than that of walking (p = 0.041). These results suggest that SCS increases EMG activity during stair climbing and is even more effective during upstairs climbing.

  This study was designed to develop a comprehensive health literacy scale (CHLS-J) for improving the health behavior of Japanese workers. A 45-item questionnaire was developed in a form that considered motivation, knowledge, and ability as these aspects are related to health literacy (HL) definitions (Nutbeam, 1998). It also measured access, understand, appraise, and apply as these are related to HL processes (Sørensen et al., 2012). The subjects in this survey study were 148 anonymous workers in Niigata Prefecture. An exploratory factor analysis (maximum likelihood method, promax rotation) was used to consider the factor structure of the HL scale, and the internal consistency of the scale was evaluated using Cronbach's coefficient alpha. The criterion-related validity was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation (r_s) coefficient between the scores of the CHLS-J, 14-item HL scale (HLS-14) (Suka et al., 2013), and communicative and critical HL scale (CCHL) (Ishikawa et al., 2008b). Based on the result of factor analysis, 31 HL items were extracted, and the factor structure was based on three factors (“the knowledge and competencies for collecting health information,” “decision-making and communication,” and “the motivation for utilizing the health information”). The internal consistency of each HL score, as indicated by Cronbach's alpha, was satisfactory, with each factor having a Cronbach's coefficient alpha of > 0.88. The correlation analysis indicated a significant positive correlation with the scores of other HL scales (HLS-14: r_s = 0.57, CCHL: r_s = 0.64). The CHLS-J demonstrated adequate reliability and validity as a feasible HL scale for Japanese workers.

  The purpose of this study was to clarify differences due to volleyball experience in movement of the radiocarpal (RC) and second metacarpophalangeal (MP) joints during overhand volleyball passes. Subjects were 20 healthy young women (age range, 19-22 years), grouped into 10 volleyball players and 10 non-volleyball players. Three-dimensional motions of these joints were analyzed during overhand passes in a sitting posture. Reflective markers were attached to the nail of the second digit, second metacarpal head, dorsal central point of RC joint, and lateral epicondyle of the humerus on the right side. Each RC and MP joint angle and the total angle (RC + MP angle) were measured. Volleyball players had a longer contact time with the ball, and larger angles of extension and flexion motions than non-volleyball players. In volleyball players, after the onset of contact with the ball, the RC joint started flexion first, followed by MP joint flexion. In non-volleyball players, these joints started flexion at almost the same time. In volleyball players, angular velocity of flexion was significantly faster for the MP joint than for the RC joint. These results suggest that volleyball players can greatly absorb the impact from the ball by continuous extension of the MP joint, and effectively apply larger force to the ball using the elastic energy obtained by the phase difference in each joint movement.

  We examined the unloading effects of patellar tendon bearing (PTB) cast in ten junior college students with no gait disturbances or deformities in their lower extremities. We measured the maximum load applied to plantar aspect of the right foot at rear and front parts in a cast using the force sensors. The unloading effects of the PTB cast and a below-the-knee cast were compared using two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance, with the length of cast (below-the knee, PTB with 30°knee flexion and PTB with 60°knee flexion) and the type of the cast heel (at the levels of the navicular bone, calcaneus bone, and no heel), both of which were intra-subject factors. In each experiment, seven cycles of steady gait were repeated three times on flat indoor surfaces, with all subjects wearing nine types of lower limb casts.

  We found that maximum load on rear foot was significantly larger in PTB 60°in the no-heel condition, but there was no significant maximum load differences between the PTB cast (both 30°and 60°) and the below-the-knee cast in either cast heel position (navicular bone and calcaneus bone). Maximum loading on front foot sole was significantly larger in PTB 60°than in PTB 30°and below-the-knee casts in either cast heel position; however, there were no significant maximum load differences between the PTB30°and below-the-knee casts. These results suggest that the 30°of knee flexion and navicular heel position were recommended when PTB cast was applied, but the unloading effects of PTB cast were similar to below-the-knee cast.