The concentrations of IgA in human milk on the 5th or 6th day after delivery were measured in 117 women who delivered maturely, and the amount of IgA per 24 hours was calculated by multiplying the IgA concentration by the total milk volume of the same day. The relationship between the amount of IgA and perinatal factors, including food intake during the latter half of the pregnancy, were investigated. Subjects were divided into three groups (little, moderate, much) by the amount of IgA per 24hrs and quantification theory II statistical analysis was applied to discriminate among the three groups using 13 factors concerning the perinatal period and food intake as explanatory variables.
1. The ratio of correct classification into the three groups was relatively high, suggesting that there is a relation between the amount of IgA in milk and perinatal and food intake factors.
2. Among the perinatal factors, the age, the gestation period and the number of experienced deliveries were effective for the amount of IgA. The obtained results showed that women 20-29 years old who had the first delivery after 38-40 weeks of gestation were liable to have the greatest amount of IgA in milk.
3. The amount of IgA of the women who ate less in the latter period of pregnancy compared with pre-pregnancy, or had a “less frequent intake of protein” was liable to be the greatest, and that of women with a “large volume” or “frequent protein intake” was liable to be greater than that of those with “the same volume” or “moderately frequent protein intake.” The amount of IgA of the women with a “frequent intake of salted dried fish” was the greatest. The fact that the amounts of IgA of the women who “ate less” or had a “less frequent intake of protein” were liable to be the greatest was considered to show that toxemia or the tendency to near abortion or preterm delivery greatly affected the amount of IgA.

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We examined the situation concerning divorce in Japan from the view-point of age difference between married couples using vital statistics from the year 1952 to 1985. Annual and cumulative divorce rates were introduced as rate of incidence of divorce. We studied these indices by age difference between couples in birth cohorts of husbands.
Our conclusions were as follows:
1) The cumulative divorce rate was lower in early birth cohorts than in late birth cohorts.
2) The cumulative divorce rate for young adult couples (aged 20-30) was higher than that for middle-aged couples (aged more than 30) in every cohort.
3) The cumulative divorce rate was lowest when husbands were 1 to 4 years older than wives. This tendency was quite similar in differnt ages and cohorts.
4) The same conclusions were reached when the annual divorce rate was substituted for the cumulative divorce rate.

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[in Japanese]

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Sensory scales are very important indicators for the evaluation of environmental odors, and of the effect of deodorizers. The purpose of this study is to examine reasonable methods of sensory scaling. For this purpose, the psychological values of rating words for odor intensity, odor hedonics and similarity were measured. The interval distances between categories of each scale were estimated in the method of successive categories as well.
Results of this study are as follows.
1) The 6-step odor intensity scale, issued by the Environmental Agency, may be regarded as an ordinal scale, but not as an interval scale. The 9-step hedonics scale may be regarded as an interval scale.
2) Psychological values of rating words are not affected by the size and the number of category steps in the graphic scales applied to the judgements of their values.
3) The number of category steps needs to be determined based on the distribution of the psychological values. The meanings and the order of the rating words have to be clear.
4) In the construction of a numerical scale, the category values should accord nearly as possible with the psychological values of rating words.
5) In results from the method of successive categories applyed to the measured values of odor intensity and similarity, interval distances between categories are unequal, and the interval distances are wide on both edges of the scale. In these cases, the values must be converted into “category values of stimuli.”

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In the present work, we studied age-associated changes in murine immune functions. We estimated total antibodies and autoantibodies to single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA), double-stranded DNA (ds-DNA) histone and collagen in sera and culture supernatants of spleen cells from young and aged BALB/c, C57BL/6 and MRL/MpJ-+/+ (MRL/n) mice.
In MRL/n mice, the IgM class of the total antibody level in serum increased gradually to the maximum at 3 months of age, and then started to decrease. In contrast, the IgG class started to rise with age after the age of 9 months.
Serum levels of IgM and IgG autoantibodies to DNA were dominant in MRL/n mice, and the IgG class started to increase in earlier stages of life than in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice.
Anti-DNA autoantibodies were produced in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cultures of spleen cells from BALB/c, C57BL/6 and MRL/n mice. The stimulatory effect of LPS on autoantibody production was significantly reduced by the addition of concanavalin A (Con A) to the LPS-stimulated cultures. The Con A-induced suppressive activity increased with the donor age in MRL/n mouse spleen cells. On the other hand, total antibody production in LPS-stimulated cultures was not affected by the addition of Con A to the cultures. These results may suggest that IgG autoantibody-producing B cells increase with age in MRL/n mouse spleen cells, and that the suppressive activity on autoantibody production is selectively augmented.

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This study reports the contents of Zn and Cu in the breast milk and serum of postpartum mothers, 17 primiparas and 20 multiparas, at one week and at one month after delivery.
Results were as follows.
1. The mean content of Zn in the breast milk was 5.44μg/ml at 1 week after delivery, and it decreased significantly (p<0.01) to 2.73μg/ml at 1 month after delivery.
2. The mean content of Zn in serum was 0.66μg/ml at 1 week, and it increased significantly (p<0.01) to 0.84μg/ml, close to the normal level, at 1 month.
3. The milk Zn level at 1 week after delivery was about 8 times as high as the Zn in serum. There was a significant (p<0.05) negative correlation in Zn contents between milk and serum at 1 week after delivery, and there was no significant correlation in Zn contents between milk and serum at 1 month after delivery.
4. The mean content of Cu in breast milk was 0.55μg/ml at 1 week after delivery, and it decreased to 0.44μg/ml at 1 month after delivery.
5. The mean content of Cu in serum was 2.14μg/ml at 1 week after delivery, and it decreased significantly (p<0.01) to 1.35μg/ml, close to the normal level, at 1 month after delivery.
6. Concerning the Cu contents of milk and serum, there was not a significant correlation at 1 week after delivery, but a significant (p<0.05) positive correlation was found at 1 month after delivery.

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We measured bone mineral contents of lumbar vertebrae (L1, L2, L3, L4) in 58 post-menopausal female volunteers (49-76 years old), using a quantitative computed-tomography method. We investigated age-related changes of bone mineral content, and analyzed the relation of bone mineral content to vertebral deformity and to physical characteristics. The following results were obtained: (1) There were highly significant correlations and some significant differences among bone mineral contents of L1, L2, L3 and L4. (2) Bone mineral content showed an apparently linear decline with age. (3) A significant negative correlation was observed between bone mineral content and the central deformity index of the vertebral body, but not for the anterio-posterior deformity index. (4) It was difficult to verify an association of bone mineral content with physical characteristics, such as height, weight, and body mass index.

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The contents of Mg and Zn in the sea-weed “wakame” were determined and compared at different growth stages, in different parts, for different root cultivation intervals, and in processed foods.
The results obtained were as follows:
1. Mg (2.09-2.60g/100g) and Zn (8.00-10.76mg/100g) contents were independent of growth stage with the exception of Zn (29.00-35.78mg/100g) in the natural young “wakame”.
2. The mineral contents of leaves, stipes, fruiting bodies and rhizoids of “wakame” at different growth stages were determined. The contents of Mg (1.00-2.36g/100g) and Zn (3.93-12.01mg/100g) were richer in leaves and stipes than in fruiting bodies and rhizoids.
3. Densely cultured “wakame” showed higher contents of Zn (6.73mg/100g) than thinly cultured plants (5.99mg/100g), and Mg content was not affected by changes in environmental conditions.
4. The Mg/Ca ratios reached a maximum in the stipe (3.3) and at fruiting bodies (2.9) in the middle stage, and in the base of the stipe of the mature plant (3.5).
5. Contents of the minerals in processed foods were determined. “Suboshi” was rich in Mg (1.07±0.42g/100g), and “Haiboshi” was rich in Zn (10.90±1.20mg/100g). The mineral contents in “Enzo” were small.

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