The purpose of this study was to examine total energy expenditure (TEE), physical activity level (PAL), energy intake (EI), and energy balance (EB), as well as the relationship between these values and physical condition during the week before a competition in nine Japanese sprinters. TEE was determined over 7 days using the doubly labeled water method, while EI was determined over 3 days using self-reported dietary records. The mean TEE was 3775±747 kcal/day, and the mean PAL was 2.21±0.52, which is higher than that documented by the Japan Institute of Sports Science during the normal training period in sprint athletes (2.00). Meanwhile, the mean EB calculated from the equation EI-TEE was -852±806 kcal/day; thus, a negative EB was observed during the week before a competition. In addition, the athletes with a higher PAL tended to have a more negative EB than those with a lower PAL. Although no relationship was observed between physical condition and EB, the athletes' subjective physical condition was clearly influenced by the intake ratio of the three major nutrients (PFC ratio). Therefore, it is necessary to take adequate energy because PAL shows a high value during the week before a competition. In addition, it is important to consider PFC ratio in energy intake because PFC ratio may affect the physical condition.

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This study investigated the use of kotatsu in Japan by means of the Internet research methodology. The survey was conducted during January 11-12, 2011. The total number of questionnaire was 4,926. The following findings were obtained: the respondents' actions at a kotatsu were "watching television" (92.1%), "relaxing" (78.2%), "reading newspapers or books" (68.0%), etc. A major advantage of using a kotatsu is the warmth it provides to the users. On the other hand, a major disadvantage of a kotatsu is that it is obstructive when cleaning a room. On the basis of the questionnaire data, the first and last using dates of a kotatsu were estimated all over Japan, and the lines of "Kotatsu Front" were illustrated on the charts. On average, the first and last dates of kotatsu usage were November 30 and April 20, respectively. The average period of kotatsu usage was 141 days, which was 25 days longer than that observed by the previous study conducted in 1955. During the period, the heat source of a kotatsu almost entirely changed from charcoal to electricity. The change has provided easy handling and precise temperature control to kotatsu users, and resulted in extending the usage period of a kotatsu.

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This study pertains to the adsorption of radioactive substances (caesium and iodine) by mesoporous carbon compounds derived from bamboo (bamboo charcoal). We prepared bamboo charcoals by heat treatment, to investigating the adsorption characteristics. We passed 20.0mg/L cesium and iodine solution 100ml through a column with 10.0 g of bamboo charcoal treated at 700℃. The residual amount of caesium after the solution was passed through the column was 0.85 mg. This is 60% higher than the residual amount of caesium observed with natural zeolite (0.11 mg). We also added 0.05g of bamboo charcoal to 26.0 mg/L iodine solution 500 mL, and stirred. About 90% was adsorbed by the bamboo charcoal in 30 minutes, this revealed that bamboo charcoal had an iodine adsorption capacity more than 2.5 times higher than that of natural zeolite.

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This study examined the influences of color patterns displayed on a VDT screen on work efficiency and fatigue in 16 female college students. Eight patterns with white characters were presented in the negative display mode, with 8 blue background color conditions varying in lightness and chroma levels. During a 30-minute letter search task as VDT work, no significant differences in the workload or input error rate were observed among the 8 patterns. However, the systolic blood pressure and heart rate were markedly higher after working with 2 of the 8 patterns, and the critical flicker frequency was significantly lower after working with 6 patterns. On subjective evaluation, the functional aspects of the screen, such as visibility and legibility, were more favorably evaluated when the difference in the lightness level between the characters and background was more marked. Even when complying with the character-background contrast ratio specified in the WCAG 2.0, color patterns occasionally influenced physiological and subjective fatigue. With patterns creating appropriate character-background contrast, the sense of fatigue tended to be milder when the difference in the chroma level between the characters and background was less marked.

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In Japan, with advancing of the aging society due to decreasing birth rate and fewer children there have been various social problems even in both the urban big city or the rural local city, especially collapse of the local community is regarded as a big concern. To solve various social problems the residents themselves need to become a subject, but there are increasing people who do not get interested in their area. Therefore, in order to stir up the concern about general population's area and to reproduce a local community in a new form, always open "the place of a dialog" without the hierarchical order needs to be set up. Subsequently, through a lot of talks at the "platform for dialogs" and forming the network of people and a person, and it may develop into city planning activities after spending a lot of time. In the present study, we focused on the role of the "place of a dialog" without a specific project in the local community by questionnaires and interviews to 3 organizations, which had held continuous meetings as "place of a dialog". We compared each state of their "place of a dialog", and the common and peculiar conditions which made each "place" sustainable were analyzed. We also clarified the process how people who had been uninterested in their residential area in addition to their activity got the opportunity to learn about relation with people or the area, and became to get more interest in their residential area little by little after plurality participates in such "a place of dialog"

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