The Japanese law of nationality provides that the children who have the nationalities of both parents must choose one nationality before reaching the age of twenty two. However, this survey shows that many of these children prefer to keep their double nationality. The purpose of this research is to investigate their decision-making process and its influential factors. The questionnaire was sent to the children and parents of the association or 328 multi-cultural families in January 2003, and the samples collected from 75 children and 141 parents were analyzed. The great majority of mothers have Japanese nationality and fathers foreign nationality. The influential factors were processed by the correlation and multivariate analyses. As the result of this research, it is concluded that : 1. Most children tend to choose double nationality as they plan to work and live abroad. 2. The children who know of the Japanese law of nationality tend to choose double nationality. 3. The children whose parents educate them to live in both the Japanese and foreign way tend to choose double nationality.

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The factors affecting the taste of spinach boiled in salted water of various concentrations and various kinds of salt were investigated. The relationship of the oxalic acid content and mineral content with the acidity was also studied. The sensory evaluation of spinach boiled in salted water showed that the color and flavor were better when 1-3% of salt was used than when only distilled water was used. Salt also reduced the acidity. Spinach that had been boiled in water with refined salt and common salt had less acidity than that boiled in distilled water or amashio. The spinach boiled in amashio had a greater oxalic acid content than that boiled in the other salted water and the acidity was strong. However, the spinach boiled in distilled water had a lower free oxalic acid content than that boiled in salted water and the acidity was also strong. There was therefore no relationship between the acidity and the amount of oxalic acid. Sodium was detected in the soluble and insoluble fractions after spinach had been boiled in the higher concentrations of salted water. The reduced acidity of spinach boiled in salted water seems to have been caused by minerals such as Na, and not from the lower content of oxalic acid.

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We have previously reported that dietary fibers might be able to induce aluminium excretion by their binding ability to metal ions, but the study did not consider the effect of human gastric acidity. This present study analyzes the stability of binding between Al and dietary fibers extracted from 13 kinds of food comprising vegetables, mushrooms and sea weeds under the pH 2.0 condition which represents the acidity of gastric juice. The polysaccharide composition of insoluble dietary fibers (IDF) is known to differ from that of soluble dietary fibers (SDF). We therefore examined the relationship for the binding stability between indigestible polysaccharides and aluminium. The polymers in such uronic acids as alginic acid and pectin, and mucin were found to bind with aluminium. This indicates that the binding was influenced by both physical characteristics like viscosity and chemical effects.

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This paper describes the results of a questionnaire study of the education reflected in the clothing subjects given in the elementary schools in China and Japan. The educational systems in the two countries are similar and both countries offer 9-year compulsory education. No homemaking subject is given in the elementary school in China, while labor education is provided where the basic skills of food, clothing and housing are taught. We conducted a case study on clothing education for the sixth year children in Tianjin, China, and in Kochi, Japan. The contents of the questionnaire are knowledge, skill, production, motivation, and decision making on clothing. We obtained replies from 100 children in a public school in Kochi and 58 children in its counterpart in Tianjin. Regarding the knowledge on clothing life, the correct answer rate is higher in Kochi; the children in Kochi are more experienced in hand sewing, machine sewing and ironing. The results suggest that the Japanese children are more skilled because of the practice in homemaking class. On the other hand, the motivation regarding clothing life is higher in Tianjin. Further results also suggest that collaborations with the children's family, an increase of homemaking class hours, and raising of the boys' motivation are required in Japan for improvement of homemaking education, while, in the Chinese education system, more attention should be paid to skills and basic knowledge on clothing as well as to the decision making in the selection of cloths.

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In this study, the effect of environmental organic pollutants (detergents) on bacterial growth was investigated. Five different strains which may become routes of infection (i.e. food poisoning) were used : Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter cloacae, Salmonella choleraesuis and Escherichia coli. The compounds tested in this study were sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), deoxycholic acid sodium salt monohydrate (DESO), sodium undecanesulfate (SUDS), p-n-nonylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (SNBS), 17β-estradiol, 4-nonylphenol and bisphenol A. In the case of S. aureus, no significant differences in growth rates could be observed with and without the compounds at 1 mg/l concentration in the growth medium, although the growth rate for 4-nonylphenol were higher than that of the control. All other strains exhibited higher growth rates than the controls for all the compounds tested. On the other hand, B. cereus only showed a longer lag phase in case of 4-nonylphenol addition.

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The effect of adding egg yolk powder on the physical properties of a sago starch suspension and gel was studied and compared with the effects on corn and potato starch. The viscosity of the starch suspension, texture, mold-shape retention and syneresis of the gel were each measured. Lemon pie fillings made from sago, corn and potato starch were scored by a sensory evaluation. The firmness and cohesiveness of the sago starch gel was similar to that of the corn starch gel. No adhesiveness of the sago starch gel was apparent. Adding 20 w/v% of egg yolk slightly reduced the mold-shape retention of the sago starch gel in comparison with the corn and potato starch gels, and also decreased the syneresis of the sago starch gel. The sensory evaluation showed preference for the lemon pie filling made from wheat flour in taste, firmness, adhesiveness, springiness, and overall evaluation, while the lemon pie filling prepared with sago starch was preferred in taste, adhesiveness, springiness and overall evaluation over that of corn starch.

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Poverty, poor living environment and un-hygienic conditions cause serious problems in Zambia. It is well known that the infant mortality rate is high and that children less than five years old are chronically undernourished. In addition, the drought in 2002 resulted in a food shortage, particularly for subsistence farmers and families in mountain villages. A survey was conducted to assess the current state of the children's diet, physical condition, and nutrient intake. The height and weight of the children there were almost in the normal range when compared with WHO data and the height and weight of children of the same age group in an urban area. The drought had apparently not had any drastic affect on their growth. However, about 89% of the children showed a deficient nutrient intake from lunch. In particular, the quantity of proteins was extremely low in comparison with the quantity of carbohydrates and lipids. The frequency of meals eaten was also lower, and only staple foods were provided. The drought had therefore affected the children's nutrient intake by eating a food shortage.

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