The Family Income and Expenditure Survey by the Statistics Bureau of Japan was analyzed from the viewpoint of Home Economics, and definite demerits were apparent from the use of the term “household head.” Opinions were reviewed from the U.N. and the U.S.A. concerning this term, and methods for improving the Japanese survey are proposed to yield statistics that could more accurately reflect greater economic sharing between the husbands and wives in households more exactly.
In Japan's current survey, earners in worker's households are classified into “household head, ” “wife” and “other household members.” “Household head” is defined as “a person who earns the major part of the family income, ” so the opposite term to “household head” must be its “spouse” regardless of sex, although “wife” is used in the survey. It is clear that this makes it difficult to correctly economic sharing between the husbands and wives in households.
In the U.N. and the U.S.A., the term “household head” has been criticized since the 1970s. The U.S.A., among others, eliminated the term “head” from all of its censuses and CES at the beginning of the 1980s, CES adopting the term “reference person.”
We propose the term “household representative” and suggest subdividing it into “husband, ” “wife” and “other household members” to more precisely grasp the degree of economic sharing between the husbands and wives in households.

View full abstract

The change in calcium sensitivity of calcium-activated protease (CAF) in response to starvation was studied, using crude CAF preparations obtained from the skeletal muscle of rats. The results show that, in the control group and in the 1 day-starved group rats, crude CAF activity was hardly detected in Ca concentrations less than 1 mM. On the other hand, in the groups starved for more than 2 days, the CAF preparation was sufficiently activated in less than 1 mm of calcium. These results indicate the possibility of transformation of the high-calcium required form of CAF (H-CAF) into the low-calcium required form (L-CAF), or of the specific induction of L-CAF in living cells during starvation. It is presumed that L-CAF could actually be an active form of CAF in vivo

View full abstract

The influence of various components on the stability of inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) in commercially available Umami seasoning (Dashinomoto) was investigated.
The thermal degradation of IMP in an extract of Dashinomoto was a first-order reaction at pH 4 and 7 and at 100°C. The rate constants were affected by pH and temperature, the halflife periods at 100°C being 8.1 (pH 4) and 15 hr (pH 7). The activation energy was about 1.5 × 10⁵ J·mol^-1 at each pH index. These parameters were very similar to those of the thermal degradation of IMP in solution. However, the degradation of IMP in Dashinomoto at pH 9 did not proceed clearly according to the first-order reaction, suggesting that a chemical reaction possibly occurred between IMP and other components in Dashinomoto.
Dashinomoto powder was stored at 60°C under the influence of different water activities (A_w). IMP was scarcely degraded at A_w, 0, 0.2 and 0.5, but the degradation was remarkable at A_w 0.8, suggesting that some interactions occurred between IMP and other components in Dashinomoto.

View full abstract

Some of the physicochemical properties of Kuzu and sweet potato starches were studied. Kuzu starch had a smaller granular size (14.1 μm) and a slightly higher amylose content (22.4%), compared to sweet potato starch (21.3%). X-ray diffraction measurements produced a type C pattzern for Kuzu starch that was close to a type A pattern, while sweet potato starch was designated as a general type C. Kuzu starch tended to show a slightly lower starch gelatinization starting temperature as measured on a photopastegraph or by differential scanning calorimetry than did sweet potato starch.
The temperature at which viscosity increased was observed on an amylogram to be slightly lower for Kuzu starch compared with sweet potato starch, and the viscosity curve showed a gradual increase corresponding to the viscosity increase. The starch gel as measured by a curdmeter indicated characteristics of viscousness for Kuzu starch, whereas fracture was shown to occur in sweet potato starch. We measured the strain induced in each starch gel by its own weight and found the strain was smaller in Kuzu starch and less susceptible to deformation. With regard to texture, sweet potato starch formed a hard yet easily embrittled gel, whereas the Kuzu starch gel was characterized by a greater degree of cohesiveness.
The results of a sensory evaluation demonstrated that the Kuzu starch gel had properties of elasticity, low susceptibility to crumbling, stickness and an ability to melt in the mouth, whereas the sweet potato gel was crisp and easy to crumble.

View full abstract

The influence of four types of fluorescence brightening agents (FBAs) on the yeast Saccharomycs cerevisiae in, as investigated. The FBAs used were derivatives of stilbene disulfonic acid disodium salt (FBA-1), coumarine (FBA-2), pyrazoline (FBA-3) and naphtylimide (FBA-4). FBA-1 inhibited the growth of yeast strongly, while FBA-2, -3 and -4 influenced the yeast only slightly. The growth inhibition of the yeast by each FBA can be correlated with the inhibition of sterol biosynthesis and with enzymes related to the electron-transport system in yeast. FBA-1 changed. the sterol composition by strongly accumulating the sterols found inthe early stages of biosyn- thesis and by strongly inhibiting the enzymes related to the electron-transport system. On the other hand, FBA-2, -3 and -4 did not have significant influence on either sterol biosynthesis or enzyme activity.

View full abstract

The catalytic fading of dye mixtures was investigated by examining the influence of various additives on nylon and wool fabrics. The catalytic fading was hardly suppressed by adding the singlet oxygen quencher, DABCO, or by the anti-auto-oxidative agent, 2, 6-di-t-butylphenol. However, the addition of nickel p-toluenesulfonate markedly retarded the catalytic fading.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract