The writer studied the quality of diet, the frequency of co-eating, and the atmosphere at meal time respectively in order to clarify their effects on the mental health of junior high school students. Five hundred and seventy-three students responded my questionnaire, and the major findings are as follows : (1) As for the dietary quality, high quality of diet may be considered very effective in controlling low level of “lack of perseverance” as well (2) as their temperament such as “hot temper, ” “irritation, ” “unwillingness to go to school, ” and “wish to commit suicide.” It should be noted that peaceful atmosphere at the dining table is more effective on the above-mentioned four states of mind than high level of nutrition. (3) High frequency of co-eating is found effective in controlling their “wish to commit suicide” and “unwillingness to go to school” as long as they are pleased with the atmosphere at the dining table. (4) As far as the male students are concerned, talking with their family off the dining table seemed effective in controlling their “hot temper, ” “irritation, ” and “wish to commit suicide.” So long as the female students are concerned, however, the warm meal time atmosphere seemed more effective than having a chat with their family off the dining table.

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The thrombolytic enzyme, nattokinase, could be produced by the solid-phase culture of barley with Bacillus natto NB-1. Nattokinase production reached its maximum level after 1 day of fermentation at 37°C, and then gradually decreased. However, in the presence of a high concentration (1.0 M) of urea, the production level was increased and continued for a longer time. The final product had very strong nattokinase thrombolytic activity (>100, 000 IU/100 g dry weight), as well as amidolytic activity for Suc-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-pNA, H-D-Val-Leu-Lys-pNA, and Suc-Ala-Ala-Ala-pNA. Very high concentrations of vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7; about 9, 500 μg/100 g dry weight) and free amino acids, including Phe, Val, Tyr and Glu, were also confirmed.

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Visual acuity was measured by Randolt's ring-figures covered or uncovered with a fabric and the degree of transparency for the fabric was defined as the ratio of the visual acuity in the covered case to that in the uncovered case. The feeling of transparency of fabrics was determined through sensory evaluation with the sight sense. As the optical parameters of fabrics, the absorption coefficient and the diffusion coefficient used in the Kubelka-Munk model were experimentally measured by the application of Minato's method. Then the relationship of those characteristics for the transparency of fabrics, namely, the degree of transparency, the feeling of transparency and the two optical parameters, was discussed. Obtained results were as follows.
The feeling of transparency was very high as the degree of transparency was above 0.8 and the feeling of transparency was sufficiently low, as the degree of transparency was below 0.4. Both characteristics proportionally changed to each other in the range of 0.4 to 0.8. The degree of transparency showed a good linear relation with the transmission coefficient calculated by using the Kubelka-Munk model, where the absorption and diffusion coefficients were experimentally determined for the fabrics. Also it is interesting to note that the degree of transparency was mainly dependent on the diffusion coefficient and showed a good correlation coefficient in terms of fabric thickness.

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From the viewpoint of recycling of bio-based resources and environmentally friendly polymers, polyurethanes (PU) were prepared from polyethylene glycol (PEG) with bean-curd refuse (BCR) and diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI). BCR consists of protein, lipid, saccharide and ash. However, it is not known which component is most effective to improve the physical properties of PU's. In order to investigate the effect of the components of BCR on the physical properties of PU, PU's were prepared from each component of BCR and the mixture of components (called man-made BCR). Stress at break (σ_b) of PU's increased by increasing the polysaccharide components, while strain at break (ε_b) of PU's increased by increasing the lipid component. Glass transition temperature (T_g) of PU's increased by increasing the components of polysaccharide and lipid, and decreased by increasing the content of protein. These results suggested that chemical structure of the components of natural resources affected the physical properties of PU's. The physical properties of PU derived from BCR and man-made BCR were calculated by the equation of additive rule and these values agreed with those of BCR-PU.

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The surfaces of 3D models which were constructed in our previous study were developed for each of 48 elderly women. The dimensions on the developments were analyzed. In comparison with those of young women, the elderly women's torso surface dimensions were significantly different in several aspects. The back neckline was narrower and shallower, the front neckline was deeper, the shoulders were narrower, and the bust point was lower. Above the armpit level, the difference in length between front and back was larger and the angles for dart placement were larger, allowing for the more rounded back of elderly women. The principal components characterizing the individual shape of various two dimensional torso surface areas were extracted. The meanings of those components were similar to those of young women except for the second component which was interpreted as the degree of inclination of the upper back. These results suggest the need for special consideration regarding alterations of dress patterns when ready-to-wear and custom made dresses are designed for elderly women.

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A certain style of mourning dress was established in the first part of the Heian period, and while almost all of the basic styles. Continued to be worn in later years, the more formal style did not appear until the latter part of the period. The formal style was called Sokutai and the informal one was known as Noushi, the same as those for the Kichibuku (normal dress), while the color itself played a key role.
In the case of the Ryoan Shozoku, dressing in a blackish Tsurubami (dark brown) was normal, and Ihou (outer garments designed for each job ranking) was worn for service in the Imperial Palace.
For public funeral occasions, mourning dress other than the Ryoan were Mumon Kan (plain cap without any pattern) and Nibiiro Hou (dark grey outer garments), Mumon Kan and Mumon Hou (outer garments without any pattern), and Aya Kan (cap with a pattern) and Aya Hou (outer garments with patterns) in descending order of relationship intimacy. The colors of Sitagasane (underwear) and Hakama (pants) were Nibiiro, Ao Nibiiro (bluish dark grey), Ao Kuchibairo (bluish brown) Ki Kuchibairo (yellowish brown) in descending order of the intimacy of relationship. Each person selected a combination of the style of the costume and the color from among those mentioned above, based on his or her own state of mind at each occasion. After the 49th day from the passing, which came to represent the end of one of the mourning periods, the color of the mourning dresses were gradually changed to lighter ones. Private mourning dress was also worn in accordance with public dress in principle, and females also changed their Kichibuku to those of dark grey colors.

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The purpose of this report is to find the dwelling realities of the aged residents by analyzing the relation between their behavior and time-use. Also studied were the placement and use of furniture as well as other life-supporting materials. The data used for our analysis are the results of the detailed investigation (1993, N=336) and the case study (1994, N=22). The living characteristics of the aged residents may be summarized as follows :
1) Half of the aged residents' basic living time (from getting up to going to bed) were more or less regular, but irregularity was seen in about 20% of them, especially in single males. Most of the single males had no interest in household work, with their dwelling behavior centering around visual and audio activities.
2) The basic living time of seniors and weaklings were rather regular, going out less frequently; leaving their residence happened only when going to hospital for treatment or going shopping to buy life-supporting necessities. It was also noted that their activities tended to become less while being unable to do household work positively.
3) The case study showed that half of the single household residents had their meals in WASITU or the Japanese style tatami-mat room and not in their dining-kitchen; they seemed to prefer YUKAZA or the Japanese style of dwelling. In so far as the physically handicapped residents were concerned, they used Western style beds for sleeping in WASITU.

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The purpose of this study is to grasp the actual conditions of the bathroom equipment and to determine factors that influence the degree of satisfaction in the psychological evaluation. The results are as follows :
1) In most cases, bathroom is placed on the first floor, but, there is an increased tendency of new houses built ten or less years ago having the bathroom on the second floor.
2) It may be inferred that the number of unified type bathrooms will continue to increase in accordance with an increase of prefabricated houses.
3) It is noted that white or beige is the predominant color of the wall for newly built houses while the bathtub color is mostly metallic in old houses built more than ten years ago.
4) Most bathrooms are equipped with windows, but less than half of the bathrooms are equipped with ventilation fans. Those equipped with jet air, heating or drying systems are still low in percentage, but it is expected that the number of bathrooms equipped with the afore-mentioned systems will increase in the future.
5) It was clarified that the degree of users' satisfaction with their bathrooms is largely influenced by bathtub color as well as other factors such as lighting, size, and ventilation or whether or not the growth of mold can be checked.

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The purpose of this survey is to grasp the habit and consciousness of bathing and to suggest a future style of bathrooms. The results are as follows :
1) The frequency of using shower and bathtub differs with bathers' age as well as season.
2) The purpose of bating differs with age. The aged take a bath for health reasons; the middle age for better communication with family; and the young for having their time all by themselves.
3) As for bathing article, popular and well used are the citron for hot bath and the bathing powder for cool bath. Well known but less frequently used are the aroma bath, esthetic gel, and other newly marketed items, with the exception of young females who take strong interest in them.
4) The subjects are classified into four groups from the viewpoint of their habit and consciousness of bathing and by quantification method Hayashi Mas well as Cluster Analysis.

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