A method is described to comprehensively evaluate the oxidative stress caused by postprandial hyperglycemia. The hemolysis of erythrocytes collected from the fingertip in the glucose tolerance test was used as an index of oxidative stress in the subjects, and the method was used to examine the effect of ingesting barley. Both the blood glucose level and the area under the curve (AUC) ratio of the hemolysis rate measured after ingesting rice tended to be proportional to an increasing amount of rice. When those subjects whose AUC ratio had increased after ingesting rice (360 g) took a mixture of rice and barley, no significant increase in the AUC ratio was apparent, while the blood glucose level was similar when compared to only ingesting rice. Although the bioactive components of barley rice responsible for the antioxidative effect need to be identified, these results indicate that the barley intake could have had a beneficial effect on the endothelial dysfunction caused by oxidative stress.

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  This study investigated the differences, depending on the time of year, in preschool clean-up time used by teachers. It analyzes preschool teachers' narratives based on videos of clean-up time in June and October in a class of four year olds. The results were as follows: (1) The teachers in both June and October respect children's play. However, in October the teachers expect the children to clean up after themselves. (2) In June, teachers constantly emphasize the need to clean up to the children, but in October they don't need to mention it so often. (3) In June, teachers clean up first and then work together with the children, while in October they mainly leave this work to the children. (4) In June, teachers instruct directly and concretely, while in October teachers instruct indirectly and generally. (5) Because clean-up time becomes part of the daily routine, differences of practical knowledge between June and October occur. (6) The differences of practical knowledge depending on the time of year are related to the preschool curriculum, teaching plans and children's developmental changes.

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  Although the fruiting body of the brown beech mushroom (Bunashimeji, Hypsizygus marmoreus) is known to contain several proteases, the proteolytic effects of these proteases on myofibrillar proteins have not previously been examined. We prepared a crude protease fraction from the fruiting body of the brown beech mushroom and examined its proteolytic effects on pork myofibrillar proteins.
  The crude protease fraction hydrolyzed the myosin heavy chain in the pH range of 4.0-10.0, whereas actin, the other major myofibrillar protein, was unsusceptible to the enzyme. Treating pork tissue with the crude protease fraction at 25℃ for 1 h caused a substantial morphological change in the surface area of the meat. These results suggest the possibility of the protease preparation being suitable as a meat tenderizer. The protease fraction prepared from the brown beech mushroom was more susceptible to being heated than that from the maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) fruiting body, suggesting its advantage in preventing oversoftening of the meat by rapid inactivation of the enzyme from heating during cooking.

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  A survey of the dietary energy intake (EI) by 20 healthy subjects (8 males and 12 females) aged 85 years and over living in Sayama city, Saitama prefecture, was carried out by recording their daily intake of dietary energy (calories), essential nutrients, including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, and of 15 groups of food.
  The average energy intake (EI) was 1987 kcal by the male subjects and 1673 kcal by the female subjects. The difference in amount between EI and the average estimated energy requirement (EER) was ＋64 kcal for the male subjects and ＋58 kcal for the female subjects.
  The protein, fat and carbohydrate energy ratios were 15.8％, 21.9％ and 60.2％ for the male subjects, and 15.0％, 22.9％ and 61.8％ for the female subjects, each being within the normal range of the 2010 Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) values for the Japanese.
  The average intake of vitamins and minerals by the subjects compared to the 2010 DRI values was significantly higher, except for calcium, zinc, manganese and retinol. An excessive intake of sodium chloride was apparent by both the male and female subjects when compared with the intake by people aged 70 years and older reported in the 2011 National Health and Nutrition Survey of Japan.
  The average intake of 15 groups of food was also measured. Among these, the average intake of seeds and nuts (3.9 g by males and 6.8 g by females), of vegetables (353.7 g by males and 377.8 g by females) and of fruits (194.1 g by males and 234.9 by females) was considerably higher than that by people aged 70 years and older reported in the 2011 National Health and Nutrition Survey of Japan.

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