In the present study, we examined the impact of folic acid restriction on alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in ovariectomized (OVX) rats on a high-fat diet. Thirteen-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to either OVX (n = 44) or sham-operation (n = 11). One week after the surgery, OVX rats were further divided into 4 categories based on the diet: normal diet (OXV-Cont.), folic acid-restricted normal diet (OVX-FR), high-fat diet (OVX-H), and folic acid-restricted high-fat diet (OVX-HFR). On day 28, there was no significant difference in serum ALP level among the 4 OVX groups. The serum folic acid level was significantly lower by folic acid restriction (p < 0.001). On the other hand, the serum homocysteine concentration was higher in the OVX-HFR group than in the OVX-Cont. group (p < 0.01). Analysis of a multiple comparison test demonstrated that femoral ALP activity was lower in the OVX-HFR group than in the OVX-H group (p < 0.001), suggesting an association between high-fat diet and folic acid restriction. Collectively, we demonstrated that folic acid restriction reduces femoral ALP activity in OVX rats on a high-fat diet. As femoral ALP activity is a marker of osteogenesis, our study suggests that folic acid restriction increases the risk of osteoporosis in individuals on a high-fat diet.

  Focusing on the affinity between the prewar movement for rationalizing living and the wartime regime, this paper clarifies the aspect of Jiyu Gakuen's practical sewing education in the 1940s, that is, during wartime, by analyzing Gakuen Shinbun and Fujin no Tomo. Three things came to light. The first point is that “cooperative sewing,” which was the school's practice of sewing education during wartime, had a direction of “rehabilitation use” and “saving,” which had a strong relationship with the “rationalization” of life – the school's educational policy since before the war – and that it was possible to adapt to the wartime regime in line with the school's ideal of “immediate life education.” The second point is that, unlike the prewar practice, cooperative sewing had a strong tendency to seek higher efficiency and had shifted to factorization and labor rather than rationalization. The third point is that cooperative sewing had maintained a consistent perspective since the prewar era of not only “rationalization” but also “beautification” in daily life.

  Fermented foods such as sake and miso are an important part of the food culture of Japan. Sake is made from rice and rice koji, and is used as a seasoning and beverage of choice. Sake lees, a byproduct of the production process, is used in various ways such as in pickles and soups, and along with other fermented foods is an integral part of Japanese cuisine. Using sake lees is a positive step towards dispelling Japan’s “wasteful consumer culture,” and it supports efforts to create a sustainable society, which is an important part of public school education.

  In this study, an analysis of textbooks was conducted with the aim of understanding the current state of pedagogy regarding fermented foods such as sake and sake lees in home economics, as well as the issues involved. Although textbook content differed by school type, there were similarities in how fermented foods were presented in elementary, junior high and high school textbooks. Specifically, there were few descriptions of fermented foods that dealt with their history, ingredients, and methods of production. In particular, there was little reference to sake or its byproduct, sake lees. These results suggest that there is a need to promote an understanding of food culture by examining how students learn about fermented foods in school.

  In April 2020, when the COVID-19 infection spread, 283 people made 500 cloth masks in a home economics class at a junior high school. In order to develop the ability to take a countermeasure to the crisis, the educational effect of the mask-making class by taking advantage of already learned knowledge was examined. Many students realized that they had achieved their goals in a short period of time by making use of the skills had already learned and the assembly line production. Using knowledge and skills to allocate roles in order to sew in a short period of time and cooperating with each other was effective in responding to unexpected situations such as COVID-19. In addition, collaboration with teachers of other subjects with specialized knowledge beyond the framework of the subject was very effective in this practice. The practice also revealed the necessity of maintaining sewing machines that failed due to metal fatigue, and deploying computerized sewing machines to repair fabrics at schools.