The effects of bed mattress and pad material on initial stages of sleep under mild cold exposure were investigated. Nine healthy male subjects slept from 13:30 to 15:30 on a spring mattress with a polyester bed pad (S) and a camel hair mattress with a camel hair bed pad (C). Ambient temperature and relative humidity were maintained at 15℃ and 60％, respectively. Polysomnography recordings, skin temperature, microclimate, bed climate, and subjective sensations were obtained. The sleep efficiency index, total sleep time, and amount of rapid eye movement sleep (REM) significantly increased in C compared with S, while wakefulness decreased in C compared with S. No significant differences were observed in skin temperature. The microclimate temperature of the foot area significantly increased in C compared with that of S in the initial and later phases of sleep. The bed climate temperature of the waist area significantly increased in C compared with that in S in the later segment of sleep. The subjective thermal sensation of the foot was significantly warmer in C than it was in S. These results suggest that bed mattress and pad properties can decrease wakefulness and increase REM in mild cold exposure by increasing the bed climate temperature of the foot area and the sensation of warmth in the foot.

  We focused on current commercially available super-concentrated liquid laundry detergent and analyzed high school home economics textbooks. We analyzed the descriptions of such things as washing conditions, synthetic detergents, bleach, and softening agents.
  As a result, we found that the description of super-concentrated liquid laundry detergent was insufficient. Ten of the 17 high school home economics textbooks that we analyzed described changes in detergent concentration, bath water ratio, number of times rinsed, clothing smell, etc. related to lifestyle changes in recent years. Only four of the textbooks, however, contained descriptions of super-concentrated liquid laundry detergent.
  It was revealed that home economics textbooks do not necessarily reflect actual conditions.
  Based on these analyses, we suggested that a problem exists in the teaching of high school home economics when it comes to washing clothes.

  Sometimes we feel that time is shorter or longer, depending on the activity we are engaged in and how interested we are in it. In this research, we focused on one's sense of time, in an effort to examine whether or not it could be used as an index in quantifying the interaction of people with their surrounding space. Thirteen settings were simulated, and experiments were conducted with subjects in a sitting position in order to evaluate their self-affection, image of the situation and sense of time. Although we encountered some problems in conducting the experiments, we found that, subjects felt the time was shorter in a comfortable setting and longer in an uncomfortable situation. As a follow-up study, we intend to clarify what constitutes a comfortable setting and what constitutes an uncomfortable setting, as well as further investigate the interaction of people with their surrounding space and sense of time.