This paper presents the results of our survey in the year 2000 regarding the time use by over one hundred employed married couples in Tokyo. We compare and contrast the basic characteristics of the survey participants with appropriate official statistical data in order to examine their averaged activity time and activity participation rate. The survey participants are the married couples with both employed or only the husband under employment, living in Setagaya, Tokyo. We publicly invited participation in our survey. Of the total 146 volunteered, we obtained 129 effective samples. Their representativeness was checked against official statistics as regards age, education, occupation and income distribution, and it was found that our participants in comparison with those of the average population had higher levels of education and income with the percentage of white color workers higher than average. The main results of this survey are : 1) The average time data on weekdays show that those couples with the female partner fully employed have less time for sleep. 2) As to the rates of participation in weekday social/cultural activities, the rates of 'Relaxing with Family Members' and 'Cultural Activities and Hobbies' are lower on the part of the full-time employed couples.

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The effect of soaking and freezing before cooking on the softening rate of Azuki beans was studied. Azuki beans were soaked in deionized water at 20°C for 22 h and then frozen at-40°C for 24 h. The softening by cooking the samples was approximated by first-order reactionh kinetics, and the softening rate constant was obtained from the hardness values measured by a texturometer. The rate constants at 99.5°C with no treatment, soaking-only treatment, and freezing after soaking treatment were 0.070, 0.089 and 0.110 (min^-1) respectively. Optimum cooking times at 99.5°C, which were calculated by using the softening rate constant and optimum softening ratio with no treatment, soaking-only treatment, and freezing after soaking treatment, were 71.7, 32.3 and 24.2 min. We conclude that the freezing after soaking treatment before cooking enhanced the softening rate of Azuki beans and that this treatment could shorten the cooking time required for Azuki beans by up to 34% when compared with the time for the nontreated samples.

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The process for cooking the beans affects the yield and quality of Azuki paste. The effects of the pretreatment used before cooking on the quality of unsweetened and sweetened paste were examined. The seed coat of the beans was broken in a shorter cooking time after they had been soaked in water before cooking, and it was more facilitated by freezing after this soaking. The optimum cooking at 99.5 °C for unsweetened Azuki paste was judged as follows : 90 min with no pretreatment, 45 min with soaking, and 30 min with freezing after soaking. The moisture content of the paste was highest after soaking and freezing. The a-value and b-value, which were measured by a color differential meter, of unsweetened paste after the soaking treatment were lower than those with no treatment, and the paste from soaked and frozen beans was light purple in color. Azuki paste granules obtained with the soaking and freezing treatment were found to have a damaged cell membrane under optical microscopic observation. Sweetened paste made from unsweetened paste made from beans after the soaking and freezing treatment thickened with the shortest stirring time, and presented the characteristic and graceful purple color. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that this sweetened paste was significantly smoother than that with no pretreatment.

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The results of studies on the extraction of chicken stock and the preparation of chicken consomméare reported. The effect on the stock of different body parts of the chicken (bony parts, wing parts, and tissue components of bone, skin and meat) on the taste was investigated. The effect of additional meat (added skinless chicken breast meat representing 0%, 15%, 30%, 45% or 60% of the final consommé volume) on the taste of consommé was also investigated. Stock extracted from each type of tissue demonstrated unique characteristics (e.g., meat stock exhibited a stronger umami intensity as it contained large amounts of 5'-IMP and Glu, whereas bone and skin stock each displayed weak umami intensity but contained a large amount of peptides). However, the difference between stock made from the bony parts and wing parts blended with equal amounts of the three kinds of stock from the tissues (as these were included in the original bony or wing part) was minimal. Additional meat demonstrated a greater effect on the taste of consommé than the kind of stock used. A sensory evaluation determined the most preferable level of additional meat to be 15%, there being no improvement by increasing the level to 45% or 60%.

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The sterilizing effect of zeolite supported by metal-ion on washing water was investigated experimentally. Silver, zinc and copper were used for the metal-ion and these zeolite materials were added to the washing water together with the surface active agent (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate : DBS). The number of living bacteria in the washing water was counted before and after washing. As a result, by using the zeolite supported by metal-ion, the living bacteria could not be observed in the used washing water even though the content of zeolite was fairly small at 0.05wt%. In the case of sodium zeolite, the sterilizing ability of DBS deteriorated. In addition to the above examinations, the sterilizing effect of zeolite on used bath water was examined. The used bath water with bacteria of 5.7 × 10⁵/ml was applied to the washing together with the zeolite supported by metal-ion of 0.05wt%. The observation experiment suggests that no bacteria exists in the water after washing. It is concluded here that the metal-ion acts effectively as a sterilizer during the washing process and the used bath water can be applied to the washing water using the zeolite supported by matal-ion.

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The antibacterial properties of dirty fabrics washed by using the zeolite supported by metal-ion was investigated experimentally. Silver, zinc and copper were used for the metal-ion and these zeolite materials were used for the washing together with the surface active agent (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate : DBS). It is noted from the washing experiment that a good antibacterial property can be achieved after washing by using zeolite supported by metal-ion and/or DBS. In the case of sodium zeolite, however the antibacterial effect on fabrics decreases with the increase of zeolite. This may be caused by the adsorption of DBS into the crystal structure of the sodium zeolite. For fabrics with antibacterial properties, the sticking of zeolite on the surface of fabrics can be observed after washing. The sticking of zeolite supportrd by metal-ion may cause the antibacterial property of fabrics after washing. An additional experiment suggests that the amount of zeolite does not effect how clean the fabrics are after washing. In the case where DBS concentration is higher than critical micell concentration, the degree of cleanness of washed fabrics is somewhat higher when zeolite is used compared to when zeolite is not used.

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This paper identifies the subjective lifestyle image, within the context of everyday relationships, held by people requiring daily medical care and reports on the factors that affect this image. Thirty people on dialysis were interviewed as part of a clinical study questionnaire. The results and conclusions of this study show that there are two levels within the subjective lifestyle image of people on dialysis : “relationship receptive lifestyle image” and “relationship developing lifestyle image.” Factors examined for their effect on subjective lifestyle image included “age” and “awareness of stress.”

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the play environment for children by studying the status quo of children's play and how parents view their play. The findings are as follows : 1) It is clarified that after school playtime is short and that their play with mates of same age group is mainly limited to some privately owned indoor space. This is increasingly evident among children in higher grades. It also becomes apparent that there are children who would prefer to play outdoors but are not able to do so as there is neither play space nor playmates available while playtime is short. 2) Children have few daily-based nature experiences. It is found in this connection that, in higher grades, children with more nature experience (especially daily-based ones) have stronger interest in outdoor play. 3) Parents' satisfaction with children's play is relevant to the play conditions; their satisfaction increases as their children play outdoors more often. Many parents feel the need to not only increase the time but also improve the quality of outdoor play for children. 4) It seems outdoor play has certainly become more often when encouraged by parents, but far more effective than parent's prompting seems devising ways to lead children to have more interest in outdoor play.

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