This essay uncovers new sartorial roles of men's waterproof coats that emerged in late Victorian and Edwardian England. Since the 1820s, England had witnessed remarkable improvements of waterproof cloth. Its primary purpose was to protect the body from the elements, though in the late nineteenth century, London tailors developed fashionable waterproof coats for gentlemen. By the end of the century, such coats became so familiar as to be depicted in fiction. One remarkable example is Sherlock Holmes, a famous fictional detective of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wears one in the stories. Taking his coat as an illustrative example of the period, this essay focuses on three main topics: 1) the correlation between the development of waterproof coats and class distinction in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods; 2) the role of Holmes's clothes in the stories; and 3) defining Holmes' waterproof as a contemporary fashion for gentlemen.

  Holmes' waterproof functions not only to reinforce his image as an intellectual and proficient detective, but also as a respectable agent who modernizes the dress code for gentleman. This is demonstrated as follows: 1) Investigating the development of waterproof coats of the periods reveals that the waterproof symbolized British industrial advancement, idealism of innovation, as well as middle-class respectability; 2) Holmes is an educated upper-middle-class gentleman, whose class-specific behavior and ideology are crystalized in his waterproof coat; 3) For middle-class men, being gentlemanly dressed and fashionable were always hard to achieve, because of the paucity of information and the intricacy of dress codes to observe. In such circumstances, Holmes in his waterproof serves as a denominator of the modern gentleman. Being functional, innovative, respectable, British and at the same time fashionable, his coat exemplifies how modern gentlemen should look.

  The purpose of this study is to identify the link between optimum waistband comfort levels and age. By using a subject group of 124 healthy women between the ages of 19 and 87, the relationship between load tolerance at the waistband (y measured in mmHg) and age (x) can be expressed as (Formula a) y＝－0.287x＋32.37.

  The relationship between waistband pressure at the waistband FS (front side) zone and self-allowable pressure at the waistline was evaluated using three different postures: standing, sitting and prone. Seven young women aged 21-22 years old were measured. In a standing posture selected as a measure of central tendency, the relationship between applied pressure (x measured in mmHg) and clothing pressure (y measured in hPa) can be expressed as (Formula b) y＝0.950x＋4.64. The relationship between pressure loading (X measured in gf/cm²) and clothing pressure (P) can be interpreted for both cuff-type waistbands (XC, PC) and elastic waistbands (XG, PG) as (Formula f) XC＝1.511XG－20.54. (XG) load tolerance at the elastic waistband was interrelated with age (x).

  After converting Formula a using Formula c (1 mmHg＝1.36 gf/cm², the relationship between age (x) and the waistband XC (y) can be expressed as (Formula g) XC＝－0.211x＋23.80. XC can combine Formula f and Formula g. We can call this (Formula h) XG＝－0.140x＋29.34. These results clearly show that optimum waistband load tolerances (pressure) decrease with age.

  In conclusion, we can state that, for the most part, waistband pressure levels in ready-made clothes are too high for the elderly. Clothing manufacturers need to implement new designs that enable consumers to perform self-adjustments.

  The losses of vegetables discarded by growers in the field or in the pre-shipment selection process were assessed. The percentage losses measured for direct-sale growers were 23％ for cucumbers and 10％ for okra. In contrast, a 15％ loss for cucumbers was estimated from crop statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Although direct-sale growers, being close to their customers, are generally believed to have a low loss rate, this study found the rate to be strongly influenced by weather. Cucumber loss due to causes other than rain amounted to 16％, whereas this figure rose to 41％ during wet weather. The equivalent figures for okra were 5％ and 17％. FAO studies underline the scarcity of data for food loss worldwide. While it is difficult to quantify such losses, there is a need to accumulate data in anticipation of the future transition of agriculture throughout the world.

  This study examined the learning content of diet education in elementary, junior high and high schools. It was a survey of 560 college students based on their consciousness of their eating habits, dietary habits and food group intake. Five factors were discovered. They were: safety and health-oriented, quantitative consumption-oriented, qualitative consumption-oriented, homemade-oriented and eating-out or home-meal replacement-oriented. The consciousness was associated with relationships with their residential environment and gender, or knowledge of eating habits. Except for eating-out or home-meal replacement-oriented four of the five factors showed a positive correlation between consciousness and knowledge. In particular, quantitative consumption-oriented is important in terms of consciousness related to the degree of understanding of what was learned in Home Economics at junior high school and high school. Therefore, it was suggested that it is necessary to consider systematic educational content.