A balance test of nutrients was conducted as part of an investigation on the direct intake of marketed green tea using rats. In addition, the effect of the nutrients was considered from the weight and mineral content of bones extracted at the time of dissection.
As experimental animals, 3-week-old Wistar strain male rats were used and they were divided into three experimental groups, i.e., a control group given AIN-76 feed, a 1% group given the basic feed with 1% green tea powder added and a 5% group given the basic feed with 5% green tea powder added. The balance test was conducted for 4 days in the 25th week of the total feeding period of over 28 weeks. The results obtained were as follows.
(1) Feed intake was significantly higher in the 1% group but the three groups showed no difference in weight gain and feed efficiency. Dung volume became significantly lower in the order of the control group >1% group >5% group but there was no difference in urinary volume. The apparent digestive efficiency of crude protein/crude fat was significantly lower in the 5% group and the digestive efficiency of crude ash was significantly lower in the control group, while the digestive efficiency of insoluble dietary fiber became significantly higher in the order of control group <1% group <5% group. There was no difference in the balance of nitrogen and phosphorus but the 1% group showed significantly higher values for the amount of internal reserve and ratio of calcium and magnesium.
(2) In the bones (femur of the right foot and neck bone-fibula), the contents of crude ash and magnesium were significantly higher in the 5% group but there were no differences in the weight of defatted dry bone and the content of calcium and phosphorus.

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Food intake, concentration of free amino acids in the brain and plasma and enzyme activity concerning liver amino acid catabolism were examined with young adult rats fed diets containing various levels of protein. Sixteen groups were fed diets containing 3% and from 5 to 75% (in increment of 5%) egg albumin for 10 days. A similar type of experiment with fifteen lebels of dietary casein except for 3% was carried out.
Food intake was depressed in rats fed low protein or high protein diets. A concentration of methionine in the brain was low in the low protein or high protein diets and that of histidine was high in the low protein diets and low in the high protein diets. The activity of serine-threonine dehydratase in the liver increased and concentrations of threonine, serine and glycin in the brain and plasma decreased with increase of protein contents in diets. There was little difference between egg albumin and casein in these profiles of amino acids. Changes in concentrations of methionine and histidine in the brain are suggested to be one of the factors controling food intake.

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A starch-saccharifying enzyme, amylase, extratellularly produced by Ganoderma lucidum No. 15 was purified to homogeneity by CM-cellulose chromatography and gel filtration on Bio-gel P-150 and Toyopearl HW 55F, and its properties were examined. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 53, 000 by gel filtration and 54, 000 by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, indicating that it is monomeric. The optimum pH for its activity was 5.0. The optimum temperature was 50°C. The enzyme was stable within the range of 0-40°C and pH 4.0-9.0. Its isoelectric point was 6.8. The K_m value for soluble starch was 0.83%. The enzyme was capable of hydrolyzing some raw starches but potato. In the case of wheat and corn starches, the starch-digesting rates were about 18.6 and 16.6% of those of cooked starches, respectively. The enzyme was suggested to be glucoamylase because it produced only glucose from starch.

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Potato croquette samples deep-fried in 180°C oil were prepared after freezing at -20°C or refrigerating at 5°C. The rupture level of these two kinds of croquette was compared with croquette prepared without cooling.
For croquette sample with the crust of 1 mm thick, the cooling process was effective in controlling the rupture. The cooling process delayed rise in the temperature in the surface layer of croquette during frying. Consequently, rise in the vapor pressure of the surface layer was reduced and the rupture was controlled.
For croquette samples with the crust of 2 or 3 mm thick, little effect in controlling the rupture was seen with the refrigerating process. The mechanism of the rupture in refrigerated croquette was the same as the one without cooling. While freezing process was effective in controlling the rupture. However, the mechanism of the rupture seen in croquette of the 2 or 3 mm crust with the freezing process could not been explained by the mechanism of croquette without cooling. Thus, the new mechanism is needed to explain the rupture of croquette with freezing process.

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Analysis of degree of satisfaction in dietary life among aged people was performed in 5 areas of urban area, fishery area and rural area. A survey was conducted among 434 male and female inhabitants aged more than 65 to assess the degree of satisfaction about meals and factors affecting it. The survey was conducted by personal interviews using questionnaire sheets and the data obtained were analyzed with Hayashi's quantification I method. The results are summarized below :
(1) The degree of satisfaction was high among aged people. Especially the item that meals were delicious and the item of favorite foods were outstanding.
(2) Factors yielding a positive score in the dietary satisfaction were firstly the intake of meals, secondly the area, and thirdly taking meals regularly.
(3) The degree of satisfaction in meals was affected not only by the dietary life but also all the life including health and so on.

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This study was experimentally investigated in order to clarify effects of air temperature and clothing on thermophysiological responses and thermal comfort vote during rest and physical exercise.
The experiments were carried out in a climate chamber at Nara Women's University at different air temperatures from 15 to 30°C and in 3 types of clothing conditions. Nude : half naked (bathing bra and panties), Half : a half-sleeved cotton T-shirts, cotton shorts, bathing bra, panties and cotton socks, Long : a long-sleeved cotton sweater, cotton trousers on the Half type ensemble. The relative humidity was 50%. The mean radiant temperature was equal to the ambient air temperature, and air velocity was less than 0.2 m/sec. The subjects were three healthy untrained young women. They rested for 30 min and then took physical exercise on a bicycle ergometer for 40 min.
The results were as follows :
(1) The more the clothing insulation increased, the higher the mean skin temperature became. (2) The thermal sensation vote changed to the hotter side with increasing of the air temperature and the clothing insulation. The positive relations between mean skin temperature and thermal sensation vote were significantly observed during rest and 25 W exercise. The thermal neutral votes during rest and 25 W exercise, respectively, were 26 and 21.5°C in Nude, 24.5 and 20.5°C in Half, 21.5 and 18.5°C in Long.
(3) The relation between do values and air temperatures in the thermal neutrality was compared with that obtained from the do formula by Winslow et al. (1949).

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Clothing habits of infants in the process of growth were analyzed using the questionnaire data obtained from about 800 mothers who had children under 6 years old. The survey was conducted in October 1988. Factor analysis showed that there were seven factors which formed clothing habits of infants.
(1) The order of a child's birth in the family affects a mother's attitude in choosing her children's clothings.
(2) A mother's and her children's taste in clothings play a part.
(3) The degree of recognition differs when a mother takes her children's physical-types into consideration in deciding the clothing sizes of her children.
(4) The proportion of the clothing expenses to the total expenditure differs according to the social status of a family in a regional community.
(5) In condiseration of local conditions, the parcentage of one's own house or the size of a family plays a part.
(6) Using a sense of economy when a mother chooses her children's clothing sizes play a part.
(7) The degree of allowance differs when a mother takes her children's tastes in clothings into consideration.

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In this second report, all the questionnaires obtained were divided into several groups in consideration of the respective regional communities, the respective ages of the children and the order of a child's birth in the family after the factor analysis of the first report. The frequency distribution of the choices was calculated according to each group.
The following results were found.
(1) It is demonstrated that regional characteristics have an effect on buying the top-brand articles or the fashionable goods.
(2) As the children grow, their mother begins to pay attention to her appearance and to their appearances and to allow her children's tastes in clothings.
(3) The order of child's a birth in the family is one of the most important factors that influences a mother when she fits the new dresses on her children in selecting their clothings.

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[in Japanese]

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