The interests in promotion of health and well-being through gardening activities are high. This article reviewed the psychological and psychological effects of gardening activities from domestic and foreign precedent studies. Although mental and physical health improvements due to gardening activities were reported, this review shows that most measurements are based on a subjective estimation or an interview. There were extremely few accumulations of data based on scientific evidence. Therefore, the importance of physiological evaluation made from a future preventive medical viewpoint was highlighted.

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We evaluated the effects of ingestion of a soluble indigestible dextrin on the defecation in 22 late elderly residents in a nursing home. The experimental duration was 8 weeks, which was consisting of before-administration period (2 weeks), administration period (4 weeks) and after-administration period (2 weeks). Subjects took 100 ml green tea containing 10 g of indigestible dextrin at every afternoon tea time for 4 weeks in the administration period. In the results, the subjects' estimated fecal characteristics significantly improved in the administration and after-administration periods compared to those in the before-administration period. While, there was no significant difference in the defecation frequency or in the frequency of laxative administration in the experimental periods.

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MLXIPL is a transcription factor that regulates glycolysis, lipogenesis, and cellular response to hypoxia. A genetic variant of MLXIPL, Gln241His, is highly prevalent in a Tibetan highlander population, and has been thought to be the genetic basis of adaption to high-altitude environments in the Tibetan plateau. In the current study, we tested the association between Gln241His and various physiological parameters in over 3,500 Japanese individuals. Novel strong association was found between Gln241His and increased hemoglobin and hematocrit levels (P = 0.0059 and 0.0019, respectively). Tibetans have adapted to the hypoxia by elevating the ventilation and lowering the hemoglobin concentrations. Therefore, although the Gln241His frequency was higher in Tibetans than in other worldwide populations, it is difficult to consider this variant as a part of the genetic adaptation to hypoxia. The Gln241His-induced changes in glucose and lipid metabolism may explain the high prevalence of Gln241His in Tibetans.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the ERPs response evoked by hearing onomatopoeia with tactile stimulations. According to two-way ANOVA, there were significant interactions between "tactile conditions" and "type of words" in the Nl and P2 amplitude. Post-hoc tests showed that the Nl amplitude was smaller on the frontal region when hearing an onomatopoeic-soft sound with a soft fabric as compared to common Japanese words. Furthermore, the P2 amplitude was smaller on the left inferior temporal region when hearing an onomatopoetic-hard sound with a soft fabric. Previous studies indicated that the Nl and P2 amplitudes were small when participants could expect upcoming stimulus. The present study suggests that the sounds of "onomatopoeic words" have stronger connections with tactile sensation than those of common Japanese words.

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This study examined the effect of listening to heart sound after stress on recovery period. Six healthy male university students gave their consent to participate in the measurement. The measurement consisted of three different sessions: (1) 5-min quiet baseline period, (2) 15-min stress period by mental arithmetic task, (3) 10-min stress period during exposure to heart sound or white noise. There was no statistical difference in any measured parameters between heart sound and white noise during recovery period. However heart sound tended to be more positive than white noise for recovery after stress. The order effect was observed only in the skin temperature during stress period.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of exercise and nicotine patch use on withdrawal and urge to smoke during smoking abstinence connected with menstrual period. Participants were 13 women who smoked. They stopped smoking for three days before and after menstruation. 1. Control condition (not using strategy), 2. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) condition (using nicotine patch), and 3. NRT + Exercise condition (using both NRT and exercise [isometric exercise or body scan]). Results showed that using both the nicotine patch and isometric exercise decreased "restlessness" before and after menstruation compared to the body scan.

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We investigated the excitation levels of spinal motoneurons of the upper limbs during application of plantar vibration stimuli by recording F waves from 11 healthy men aged 23.5 ± 3.2 years. We recorded F-waves from the thenar muscle of their upper limbs before, during, and after application of plantar vibration stimuli. F wave significantly increased during application of the plantar vibration stimuli and tended to decrease after their removal. These findings indicate that in healthy subjects, upper extremity motoneuron excitability tends to increase during application of plantar vibration stimuli and to decrease after their removal.

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