This study aimed to clarify the characteristics and laterality of hand grip and elbow flexion power in young female adults. The subjects were 15 healthy right-handed young females (mean age 22.4±1.0 yr, mean height 161.1±3.0cm, mean mass 55.4±4.6kg). Peak power was exerted by both hands and both arms using six different loads of 20%－70% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). The MVCs for hand grip and elbow flexion were significantly larger in the dominant hand than in the non-dominant hand. The peak power of the dominant hand was larger for all loads for hand grip but showed no significance between both hands for elbow flexion. In short, laterality was confirmed only for the hand grip power. In addition, the peak power was significantly larger in hand grip than in elbow flexion in the dominant and non-dominant hand. The peak velocity decreased linearly with increasing loads for both movements, but the peak power increased until about 50% MVC and then decreased. The power ratio of the dominant hand to the non-dominant hand was significantly larger for hand grip power than for elbow flexion power for all loads. In conclusion, hand grip power is larger than elbow flexion power, and laterality is more marked for hand grip power.

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　This study aimed to examine the effect of email manipulation with a mobile phone on gait when going up and down stairs. Fifteen healthy young males went up and down a set of four steps twice under two conditions, with and without using a mobile phone. Stride time, stance time, swing time, stride width, gait angle and toe angle were evaluated. Stride time, stance time and swing time while using a mobile phone were significantly longer than in the normal condition. Swing time was significantly longer when going up than when going down the set of stairs, but stride width, gait angle and toe angle were significantly longer when going down the set of stairs. 　In conclusion, using a mobile phone when going up and down stairs delays gait velocity and gait tempo. In addition, regardless of mobile phone use, gait patterns differ when going up or down stairs, as a more stable posture is maintained when going down stairs.

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　Over the past few decades a number of studies have been made on social problem-solving which refers to the process of finding solutions to problems in the real world. The purpose of this study was to clarify gender differences in relationships among two components of social problem-solving ability, problem-solving self-efficacy and problem-solving skills, and psychological and physical symptoms. 　Subjects were 107 female and 127 male college students (mean age 21.2 yrs). The subjects completed the Japanese versions of the 17-item social problem-solving scale and the Depression, Anxiety, and Somatization subscales of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. 　Results of path analyses controlling for age indicated that problem-solving self-efficacy had indirect effects via problem-solving skills on depression for women and anxiety for men: namely, problem-solving self-efficacy influenced problem-solving skills, which in turn had effects on the symptoms. The results also showed that problem-solving self-efficacy had both direct effects on anxiety for women and depression and somatization for men as well as the indirect effects n these symptoms. Moreover, it was found that somatization for women was influenced by problem-solving skills, not by problem-solving self-efficacy.

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　This study examined the effect of a dual task on stepping reaction for older female. Nine healthy young female (mean age 19.0±0.9 years) and eleven healthy older female (mean age 69.0±3.1 years) participated. Time taken to stepping reaction under 2 conditions (stepping and stepping while grasping a full cup of water: a motor task) was measured. Results revealed that step velocity were slower in all subjects when they performed concurrently with a stepping reaction and step velocity in older female were slower than in young female on both tasks. An interesting finding was that the duration of swing phase as a percentage of a total stepping reaction time in older female was significantly smaller than in young female when the motor task was added to the test. In conclusion, performing a motor task while stepping reaction adversely affected the step velocity and the duration of swing phase as a percentage of a total stepping reaction time in older female, suggesting that this may be a factor contributing to poor postural balance and executive function which attentional demands might have the relationship with.

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　This study, in order to assess delayed menarche in Korean girls, sought a valid regression evaluation judgment from a regression diagram of age at menarche against maximum peak velocity (MPV) of height during puberty. The subjects were 391 Korean girls for whom longitudinal data were obtained from the first year of elementary school (7 years of age) to the second year of high school (17 years of age). In addition, age at menarche was obtained from a questionnaire survey, and precise age at menarche was calculated from date of birth. The wavelet interpolation method was applied to the obtained longitudinal growth distance, and the age at maximum peak velocity in height was derived. The normality of the age at MPV of height, age at menarche, and interval between age at MPV of height and menarche were analyzed, and the effectiveness of those statistical values was confirmed. In addition, a regression analysis was conducted for the interval in both traits and age at MPV of height, and it was demonstrated that the size of the interval tends to decrease from early to normal and late maturation. From this finding, one may consider preparation of an assessment chart by level of maturation when structuring a delayed menarche judgment. However, the regression tendency in age at menarche against age at MPV of height in the respective maturation bands was not seen to be effective at all in the early maturation band, and considering simplification of the evaluation system it would be valid to construct a uniform evaluation judgment system rather than an evaluation system by level of maturity. We then attempted a quadratic or greater regression polynomial analysis in a regression analysis of age at menarche against age at MPV of height, and the quadratic regression polynomial was found to be effective. In constructing a delayed menarche evaluation system for Korean girls, a quadratic regression polynomial evaluation of age at menarche against age at MPV of height may be proposed.

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　The purpose of this study was to aggregate the results of the new physical fitness tests conducted on children from the first grade of elementary school to the third grade of high-school, according to prefectures. In addition, this study verified whether there existed a difference between their physical fitness characteristics after having clarified the characteristics of each prefecture by gender and school year. The result of the analysis showed a strong relationship between the physical fitness scores of each group. The physical fitness score (T-score) of boys was 50 or more in Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Saitama, Toyama, Fukui, Shizuoka, Shiga, Kyoto, Tottori, Okayama, Saga, Nagasaki, and Miyazaki in all periods. We obtained similar results for girls in Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Tochigi, Saitama, Chiba, Toyama, Fukui, Shizuoka, Shiga, Kyoto, Tottori, Okayama, and Nagasaki prefectures. In contrast, the scores were less than 50 for boys in Miyagi, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Mie, Osaka, Nara, Wakayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kochi, and Okinawa prefectures in all periods. On the other hand, we obtained similar results for girls in Miyagi, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Mie, Osaka, Nara, Wakayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kochi, Fukuoka, Oita, Kagoshima, and Okinawa prefectures. The difference in the physical fitness levels was evident in various prefectures. It is assumed that this difference is due to the differences in the educational administration of prefectures.

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　The purpose of this study is to discuss temper conditions of pupils in a seaside summer house by differences on their swimming skills with POMS. As a result, the authors have found that temper conditions of pupils underwent a transition well, their preliminary tensions and uneasy senses were relaxed and angers and hostilities increased afterwards. Moreover, it has been clarified that the temper transition of the pupils with lower swimming skills is small and that with higher swimming skills is great. In addition, we have found that negative emotions of the pupils with higher swimming skills tend to increase. It been indicated that differences occur in temper transitions with differences on swimming skills in a seaside summer house.

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