Purpose: A more detailed understanding of the effects of soccer coaching by a Japan football association (JFA) official kids’ leader on exercise intensity in preschool children during small-sided soccer games may increase the prevalence of soccer coaching in early childhood and contribute to more effective coaching methods. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of soccer coaching by a JFA official kids’ leader on heart rate (HR) responses in preschool children during small-sided soccer games and compared them to those by a childminder. Methods: Ten preschool boys (mean±S.D. age: 71.1±6.5 months, height: 112.5±4.1 cm, body weight: 20.0±1.8 kg) participated in soccer coaching by a JFA official kids’ leader (KL trial) and childminder (C trial). Data were collected from small-sided soccer games (7 min). HR was recorded every 1 sec during small-sided soccer games using short-range telemetry HR monitor systems. The activity profiles of subjects were assessed using global position system technology (GPS). Results: Mean HR values were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the KL trail than in the C trial. Furthermore, mean movement distances were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the KL trail than in the C trial. Mean movement distances positively correlated with mean HR (P < 0.05， r = 0.966). Conclusions: The present results demonstrated that soccer coaching by a JFA official kids’ leader increased the HR and movement distance of preschool children, and provide novel insights into high-intensity exercise in preschool children.

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　In recent years, attention has been focused on toe flexor muscle strength which is a measure of flexion strength of a toe, as a new index indicating a relationship with a physical strength. For example, the relationship between toe flexor muscle strength and physical fitness in young people has been reported, but as far as we know, there are no reports regarding middle-aged and elderly women. Therefore, main research, we examined the relationship between toe flexor muscle strength and physical fitness in middleaged and elderly women. The toe flexor muscle strength and physical fitness were measured in 40 middleaged and elderly women (mean age 72.8 ± 8.2 years) living in the area. It was showed that the toe flexor muscle strength was associated with the body gravity sway (β=-0.378, p <0.012), vertical jump (β=0.275, p <0.001), and grip strength(β= 0.497, p < 0.005) of middle-aged women.

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　This study aimed to change of nursing practice ability before and after the seamless care workshop for elderly patients using capacity acquisition evaluation checklist for discharge support. Questionnaire surveys were conducted three months before and after the training. The survey included a capacity acquisition evaluation checklist (discharge support checklist), consisting of the basic attributes of nurses, and 33 question items, which were required by the discharge support committee. The checklist was prepared for general nurses with middle career levels (Ⅲ). To compare the performance of nurses before and after the training, a paired t-test was conducted. The significance level was set to less than 5%. A total of 97 nurses participated in the workshop, out of which 45 nurses (46.4%) submitted the questionnaire after the training. Of the 45 nurses, 43 were female (95.6%) and all of them were full-timers. In the discharge support checklist, all the question items except “Can you assess your familiarity with the condition of a patient and symptom control that enables the patient to leave the hospital?” were practiced after the training in order to identify differences in nurses’ practical abilities before and after the training. The workshop for elderly patients could improve nurses’ practical abilities of providing discharge support. However, since the conditions of elderly patients were complicated, cultivation of nurses’ ability to assess their familiarity with the condition of a patient and symptom control that enables the patient to leave the hospital was difficult.

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　The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cognitive abilities and non-cognitive characteristics for young children. The subjects were 60 young children. Their cognitive abilities were evaluated by measuring their intelligence quotient (IQ) using the Tanaka-Binet intelligence test. Further, non-cognitive characteristics were assessed through questionnaires administered to the teachers. We then computed the Pearson’s correlation coefficient to evaluate the relationship between cognitive ability and non-cognitive characteristics, and used unpaired t-test to clarify whether non-cognitive characteristics were different for different cognitive abilities. Based on these analyses, we obtained the following findings. 1. In young children, a significant positive correlation was found between cognitive ability and patience 　(non-cognitive characteristic). 2. There was a significant difference in patience among young children with high and low cognitive 　abilities. 　These results suggested that to build cognitive ability, it is important to develop patience by persistently tackling things through various activities in daily life．

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