One of the reasons why people take baths is to recover from fatigue. The present experiment focused on the effects of footbaths, which were evaluated quantitatively to find effective foot-bathing techniques, MT methods was used to construct a reference space of people in comparatively healthy physical condition leading normal lives; the reference space was then used for the calculation of Mahalanobis distances. This first report discusses methods of determining physical characteristics and explain show the reference space was constructed by selecting measurements that could be easily performed and were related to bathing effect. Data were collected from a questionnaire including questions selected to obtain a description of both physical and lifestyle characteristics. A reference space was constructed from the collected data, and Mahalanobis distances were calculated on a trial basis, using several subjects who took full immersion baths; then the reference space was reviewed according to the results and a reference space for healthy subjects was defined. In this way it was possible to obtain a valid reference space.

To use MT methods to quantify bathing effect, methods of measuring individuals'physical characteristics and quantifying their physical and lifestyle characteristics were studied as detailed in the preceding report. In the present report,characteristics were selected by using intentionally induced fatigue as a signal,Various foot-bathing modes were assigned to an orthogonal array, and the footbath effect was studied by calculating changes in the Mahalanobis distance. The footbath effect was thus elucidated by constructing a reference space of healthy subjects in which the degree of fatigue could be measured.

Bathing effect is difficult to quantify, because much of the effect is influenced by human perception. In this experiment, parameter design was carried out with Mahalanobis distance as the characteristic value, using the reference space constructed in a preceding report. Mahalanobis distance was treated as a dynamic characteristic with degree of fatigue as a signal factor, and its S/N ratio was calculated. The results showed the effect of adding bath salts to the bath water, demonstrating a clear effect of bath salts in recovery from fatigue. It was also possible to obtain similar factor effects from an S/N ratio analysis of a smaller-is-better characteristic, using sensory tests. It was concluded that the MTS methodology is also highly effective in ambiguous qualitative areas in which there are many characteristics to be measured.

MTS was used to select tests and lifestyle data useful for detecting people at high risk of developing diabetes, and to predict changes in blood glucose levels. The subjects were 935 adult males who had received heath checkups repeatedly over a period of at least ten years, and whose fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were initially within the normal range. The reference space consisted of 596 individuals who maintained FPG Values of less than 110 mg/dl over the ten-year observation period; new cases of diabetes (subjects who first exceeded 126 mg/dl during the observation period) were taken as the signal. Twenty-eight categories of health checkup data were used, including age and family data, 15 lifestyle attributes, and 12 test results. Data categories were selected by using the difference between the logarithmic FPG of the subjects diagnosed with diabetes and the average logarithmic FPG ofthe subjects in the reference space as the signal value. The second-year FPG was predicted using the selected data categories. Six test results, two dietary attributes, two alcoholic intake attributes,and two exercise attributes were selected for predicting the second-year FPG from the first-year data. For the third- and fourth-year predictions, the selection included fewer effective test results and more lifestyle attributes. A slight improvement in S/N ratio was obtained by using data from more than one year. When the second-year FPG values were predicted by MTS and the predicted values were compared with the actual measured values by multiple regression analysis (the stepwise method), the estimates made by MTS were found to track the measured values closely even for cases with high blood glucose levels. In an attempt to predict the onset of diabetes from existing health checkup data by using MTS, it was found important to employ not only test data but also lifestyle data obtained by verbal questioning. Even estimated values gave substantially reasonable results.

Soy sauce and tamari have traditionally had different quality features in different localities. Attempts at improving quality through multiple regression analysis of the relationships between quality and the complex six-month-long fermentation process have not proved to be entirely appropriate. MTS was applied to 100-kL samples of the refined and unrefined product, derived from 20 to 40 tons of raw material. The process was monitored to analyze the relations of process parameters to koji performance (strength value, pH, moisture, bacteria count), the nitrogen utilization factor in the unrefined solution, and the aroma of the final product. From the values of these characteristics, they were divided into a unit group and a signal group. Valid characteristics were selected by the inverse matrix zero-point ratio method, and level trends and signal values were estimated. The results were consistent with known fermentation properties. MTS proved to be a highly effective method of evaluating the process on the basis of various combinations of fermentation conditions.

Thermal labels are used for the POS (point of sales) system of foods or other products. The specifications of POS labels are very severe, for such as temperature and humidity ranges, surface conditions against water, oil and chemical materials. It is required that the image density changes caused by these deterioration conditions be small. Akiyoshi and others have tried to optimize the thermal recording layer design, but the reproducibility was not satisfactory because of a small gain. In this report, trials were made in two areas: the use of the standard S/N ratio and change of the signal factor from energizing time to image density. As a result, a significant gain was obtained and good reproducibility was confirmed.

In the chemical industry experiments are usually restricted due to production constraints and safety reasons; therefore, a simulation technique is used to model a chemical reaction, the production of vinyl acetate in the gas phase on heterogeneous catalysts. The advantage of this rather theoretical approach consists of calculating as many parameter configurations as needed for a thorough system analysis. Aside from the practical value to investigate potential improvements of the production rate, some aspects of key characteristics are considered. One of the characteristics is the chemical sensitivity such as the conversion ratio of the reacted raw material into the product. Another approach is based on an error equalization in terms of reducing both, unwanted by-products and reacted raw material to enhance formation of the product up to the highest degree. This is also called "maximizing the width of an operating window". Chemical sensitivity (S) is compared to an operating window for static conditions (S/N ratio). Their impact concerning further research is suggested.