The chemical composition and bacterial community structure of konoshiro-narezushi were analyzed, the latter by the 16S ribosomal RNA gene clone library method. The respective moisture and the lactic acid concentrations were 62.4% and 1.8%. One hundred randomly selected clones from the clone library were sequenced and analyzed. There were six operational taxonomic units, and the Shannon-Wiener index was1.037. The sequence similarity of all the clones obtained was equal to or higher than 99.6% of the sequence of cultivated bacteria in the public database. Lactobacillus sakei constituted 61% of the clones, suggesting that this bacterium plays an important role in the fermentation of konoshiro-narezushi.

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The heat and the mass transfer rates into air from the wetted cotton cloth put on a glass bottle were measured with two experimental apparatus, in which water was supplied to the cloth by using micro-tubes of 0.4mm OD. Hot water having a temperature of 37℃ was circulated through the bottle in one apparatus, and the mass transfer coefficient for various air temperatures and humidity was determined from the vaporization rate calculated with the amount of supplied water to wet all of the cloth. In the other apparatus, the heat transfer rate was calculated from the decrease in the temperature of hot water within the bottle, and the mass transfer coefficient was determined by subtracting the thermal heat transfer rate from the heat transfer rate. There was no observable effect of the water vaporization on the heat transfer coefficient of the air boundary film. The correlation between Sh/Sc^1/3 and Ra for the water vapor transfer under natural convection agreed with that between Nu/Pr^1/3 and Ra for the thermal heat transfer, which indicated that the mass transfer coefficient of the air boundary film for the condition without wind can be estimated from the convective heat transfer coefficient. It was also confirmed that the value of Sh/Sc^1/3 under wind condition coincides with that of Nu/Pr ^1/3 .

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We conducted a questionnaire survey on 344 females who suffered from breast cancer to investigate their problems with clothing after breast cancer surgery. In this study, we focused on the use of brassieres and the inconveniences they caused.The results obtained were as follows:1) More than half the participants felt there were difficulties and inconveniences associated with their brassieres, such as an imbalance of the two breasts, crawling up of the cups, and a humid sensation inside the bra cups, all of which were more often found amongst the participants who had undergone a mastectomy.Difficulties and inconveniences of bras, such as tightness under the bust, slipping down of the shoulder straps, and pain from abrasion were more often found in the participants who had undergone a breast conserving surgery. The first step we should take in solving these problems is to sort out the relationship between the inconveniences of bras and the diversity of the deformity and wounds in the breast area.2) We examined the connection of the inconveniences of bras with the physical symptoms and side effects of breast surgery. The results suggest an urgent need to provide patients with not only better bras but also other clothes ranging from innerwear to outerwear.3) The bras used were classified into three types: exclusive bras for breast cancer patients, ordinary bras different to the ones used before surgery, and the same bras as those used before surgery. The exclusive bras were shown to be easy on the body and were highly ranked except for moisture and hotness inside the bra cup. We believe this result was achieved through the use of silicon pads. The results for bras different to the ones used before surgery tended to show the greatest inconveniences, suggesting a need for more information in order to improve the comfort of bras after surgery.

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Bread has been eaten since ancient times and is baked by heating with dry air, steam, or oil in conventional ovens, stone ovens, tandoors, or other baking devices. Bread samples in this study were baked in a traditional stone oven at various temperatures, and the chemical composition and allergic activity were analyzed. The free amino acid content decreased with increasing baking temperature, Pro, Ala, Val, Arg, and Glu being predominant. Proteins in the stone oven bread were converted to lower-molecular-weight molecules, particularly those in the 15-16 kD and 31-37 kDa bands, resulting in decreased allergens with increasing baking temperature.

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The ingredients of relishes served with libations in seasonal rites (33 times in both spring and autumn), mainly recorded by Shunsui RAI (1746-1816, a Confucian in the later Edo era) were investigated. Liberation relishes were prepared for every rite, indicating their essential nature for food offered in seasonal rites.These relishes consisted of suimono (soup without miso), hitashimono (boiled greens flavoured with various sauces), pickles, nimono (food boiled in bonito soup), and tade-zushi (sushi prepared with water pepper). Tade zushi was often offered from a brother of Shunsui, indicating that food offerings were prepared by all the RAI family and not only by the Shunsui family. These food ingredients were regularly used in specified recipes.

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