Early childhood is a crucial period for the development of chewing function, which is essential for the overall growth and development of children. However, this period also carries a high risk of food-related choking, necessitating rigorous food safety measures in childcare and educational settings. Although small serving sizes can reduce the risk of choking, they may limit opportunities for children to develop their chewing abilities. This study was aimed to clarify the actual state and influencing factors of meal portion sizes for 2–5-year-olds in childcare and educational facilities. We conducted a questionnaire survey in 425 kindergartens, nurseries, and certified child care centers in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Portion sizes were surveyed for frequently provided foods and food categories (main dish, side dish, soup, and fruit). Facilities were divided into two groups based on whether portion sizes were above or below the median, and distribution of factors surrounding meal provision was compared using the chi-square test. Our results revealed variations in the portion sizes provided to children of the same age across facilities. Additionally, factors such as the frequency of meal rounds, experience level of menu planners, use of outsourced food services, and collaboration with childcare staff were suggested to potentially influence portion sizes.

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A polar organic solvent-salt/sugar aqueous two-phase system is advantageous due to low cost, high operability, and environmental friendliness. However, there is still a lack of basic research data on the conditions and properties of two-phase formation. The aqueous two-phase formation behavior was investigated and a phase diagram was constructed by the cloud point method. The results of the cloud point method were almost in agreement with those of the component analysis method. The order of aqueous two-phase formation ability was almost consistent with the Hofmeister series, but dihydrogen phosphate ions were an exception, and it was shown that the order cannot necessarily be explained by the Hofmeister series alone. It was shown that the more hydrophobic the polar alcohol is, the more likely it is to form aqueous two-phases. Furthermore, the sugar system was less likely to form two aqueous phases than the salt system, and in mixed systems of salt and sugar, aqueous two-phase formation becomes more difficult as the mole fraction of sugar increases.

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The rapidly aging population in Japan presents significant challenges for elderly care, particularly in enhancing communication and memory retention for individuals with dementia. This preliminary study explores the potential of AI-generated images as memory aids to improve communication between caregivers and elderly individuals. Utilizing a Stable Diffusion AI model, we generated images based on personal episodes and assessed their impact on memory retention and comprehension. Initial experiments with university students highlighted the importance of image relevance and quality, leading to improvements in AI-generated images. Subsequent tests with elderly participants demonstrated that AI-generated images significantly enhanced memory retention and understanding of the episodes compared to text-only descriptions. Our findings suggest that AI-generated images can serve as effective memory aids, facilitating better communication and potentially improving the quality of life for the elderly. This study opens avenues for developing advanced AI-based tools to support caregivers and address the growing needs of an aging society.

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Ergothioneine (EGT) is abundant in fungi such as mushrooms and certain bacteria, and is known for its strong antioxidant properties. EGT has also been implicated in aging and disease, with the expectation that maintaining its concentration in the body can extend a healthy lifespan. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between dietary habits and EGT levels among men and women aged 40 and above. The goal was to identify the dietary habits that could increase EGT levels. The investigation included physical measurements, blood tests, and a BDHQ questionnaire. Regarding food intake, a positive correlation was observed between Ergothioneine (EGT) and the consumption of mushrooms, legumes, and tofu/aburaage among all participants. Furthermore, regarding nutrient intake, a positive correlation was found between the EGT levels and the consumption of daidzein and genistein, which are nutrients primarily found in soybeans. Additionally, among females, negative correlations were found between blood EGT concentrations and serum triglycerides, along with positive correlations with HDL cholesterol. Given that Ergothioneine (EGT) is abundant in mushrooms, the correlations observed with mushrooms in the present study are reasonable. Although EGT has been found to some extent in certain types of legumes, previous research suggests that soybeans contain negligible amounts of EGT. This suggests a potential association with the soybean products consumed in the study region. From these findings, it was observed that a higher intake of mushrooms, legumes, tofu, and aburaage correlated with higher EGT blood concentrations, which are expected to contribute to the suppression of various diseases associated with lifestyle-related illnesses and aging, thereby potentially extending the healthy lifespan. Furthermore, EGT levels may be strongly associated with serum triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels.

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With the rapid increase in the number of older adults aged 75 and over by 2025, the importance of extending healthy life expectancy has been emphasized. This study focused on leisure activities of the older adults under social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of obtaining new perspectives on leisure activities and suggestions for improving the healthy life expectancy of the older adults. A literature review by three Scoping Reviews was conducted to gain a comprehensive view of leisure activities of the older adults under social distancing. The three selected studies were based on questionnaires and involved older adults aged 75 years or older visiting specific areas or medical institutions. These studies focused on the effects of social distancing due to the COVID-19 on the leisure activities of the older adults and its negative impact on their health. Leisure activities that were not affected by the social distancing included games, exercise and gymnastics, video calls using smartphones and other devices, and e-mails. The leisure activities listed in the results are expected to be brought to the health of various older adults through the application of digital technology. In addition, the limited literature on leisure activities in the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of analyzing the attributes of the older adults were noted. The importance of conducting a retrospective study on leisure activities in social distancing was suggested in order to broaden the multifaceted perspective on leisure activities among the older adults and to clarify the effects of such activities on the health span of the older adults.

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In Japan, which has entered a super-aged society, there are many research cases on car driving and accidents involving elderly people, while there are few research cases on young people, who have the second highest number of road accidents after the elderly. This present study focused on young people, who are likely to be perpetrators of road accidents and used a JAF-produced hazard prediction training video and an eye-tracking system to group subjects according to the degree of their gazing behaviour while driving. Furthermore, an interview survey was conducted with the subjects to ascertain their attitudes during the video viewing, as well as their attributes, such as frequency of driving and image of driving. The results of the eye-tracking system analysis and results of the interview survey confirm that even subjects who are anxious about driving have little effect on the degree of gazing during video viewing. It was also confirmed that even subjects who were confident in their driving skills were unable to adequately predict hazards due to assumptions made while driving. As an evaluation of the results of this study, the staff of the driving school gave an assessment that, “If the gazing behavior according to individual characteristics could be visualised in the room, effective and efficient instruction would be possible.” In addition, a police station employee gave the following evaluation, “As the results of this study utilised live-action video, the technology for gazing characteristics can be expected to promote awareness of the subjects.”

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Early intervention from early childhood is said to be important for children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the age of diagnosis is high for children with high-functioning ASD, and it has been suggested that detection is inadequate even in 3-year-old child health checkups. In this study, research was conducted to assist in the early detection, diagnosis, and rehabilitation of children with high-functioning ASD using the Maternal and Child Health Handbook, which has a high issuance rate nationwide. Participants were children who had been diagnosed with ASD and were attending a regular elementary school. The Japanese version of the Autism Spectrum Index for Children (AQ) and the school age version of the Language and Communication Development Scale (LCSA) were used to measure current language and cognitive functions. In addition, children with an IQ of 70 or higher on the WICS-III or WISC-IV were included in the study to ensure that participants were ASD children with a certain level of cognitive function. Significant differences between the “Yes” and “No” groups in the AQ and LCSA t-tests were used for the two items extracted from the “parents’ records” of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the means of the “Yes” and “No” groups in the “Can you say your name? Based on these results, it is possible to predict that children with ASD will have better social adjustment even if they can say their names at age 3. It is clear that interventions that focus on sharing feelings with others and understanding others are necessary from early on.

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The objective of this study is to examine the deficiencies in the comprehension and implementation of intellectual property rights by regional financial institutions when providing support to corporate business activities. The research method employed an actual company that conducts business using intellectual property rights as the training subject. Training was conducted for employees of financial institutions to evaluate the effectiveness of the training. The initial approach involved the utilisation of a core technology visualisation tool, namely the Marketing-Applicant (MA) map. This tool was originally devised with the objective of facilitating comprehension of the core technology of the subject company. Secondly, the core technology education schedule was interspersed with intermediate and final presentations by the participants, delivered before and after the core technology education schedule, respectively. This approach facilitated the understanding of the core technologies in two presentations. The second objective was to assess the efficacy of the core technology education program by conducting interim and concluding presentations by the participants before and after the core technology education curriculum. The content of these presentations was then analyzed and compared using a text mining methodology. In the post-training questionnaire, 30 of the 32 trainees (94 %) responded affirmatively to the question “Was the MA map useful for understanding core technologies?” The 32 participants were divided into six groups for the course presentation. There was a notable distinction in the chapter (page) of company analysis between the pre- and post-training periods. Furthermore, the number of keywords utilized by all six groups increased following the training, and they demonstrated the ability to focus on a theme and summarize it. These findings suggest that all six groups exhibited comprehension of the concepts of intellectual property rights and core technologies.

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Open data release and utilization is positioned as a first step in advancing regional / municipal digital transformation (DX). In the tourism sector, publishing open data can enhance promotional activities through public-private partnerships. Among various data types, open image data holds substantial potential due to its ability to instantly capture public interest with attractive visuals. However, compared to tabular data, image-based open data lacks established templates and precedents, making the publication process unclear and underutilized by local government officials. To address this issue, this study proposed and developed a support process for preparing open image data, leveraging deep learning techniques. The process consists of three key stages: candidate image extraction, metadata generation, and the development of an application for manual verification. In the first stage, we extracted candidate images by scoring a dataset using a model developed in previous research to assess the attractiveness of images. Images exceeding a predetermined threshold were selected. Next, cosine similarity between vectorized images was calculated to group and eliminate redundant images, retaining only one representative per group. We also implemented face detection to exclude images containing identifiable individuals, addressing privacy concerns. Additionally, folders containing images with copyright restrictions were specified and excluded from the open data set. These steps resulted in the selection of candidate images from a vast number of publicity images. In the second stage, generative AI was used to assign titles and tags to the selected images for metadata generation. In the third stage, an application was developed to allow local government officials to easily review, edit, and manage the images and their metadata via a CSV file. Local government staff highly evaluated the method for its effectiveness and efficiency, noting that prior consultations on thresholds and metadata rules contributed to an acceptable selection process.

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Prevention of frailty is essential for extending healthy life expectancy, as frailty is a trigger for conditions requiring long-term care. The recommended methods of preventing frailty include exercise therapy and carrying out activities that involve cultural and social interaction. In this study, horticultural work was selected as an activity aimed at preventing frailty. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of horticultural therapy and the validity of the outcome measures through two case studies. The subjects were two elderly women living in the community. A total of eight interventions were carried out over a period of two months with a 120-minute program once a week. The horticultural therapy included harvesting at a eucalyptus farm and craft work for processing eucalyptus. The program consisted of health checks, preparation, horticultural therapy (eucalyptus harvesting and processing), clean-up and reflection. Before and after the intervention and two months after the end of the program, measurements were carried out on motor skills, mental/psychological functions, and lifestyle aspects. As a result, the participants’ motor function and their subjective quality of life improved, their self-efficacy increased, and they went out more frequently. The results suggest that, as frailty prevention intervention, horticultural activities may have a potential to affect the motor function of the work process, as well as on the mental and psychological functions resulting from relationships with others and a sense of achievement. In addition, since it was possible to detect changes in motor skills, mental/psychological and lifestyle aspects, the nine evaluation indices used in this study may be useful as indicators for measuring the effectiveness of horticultural occupational therapy. Based on the results obtained from this study, it will be possible to further develop horticultural therapy for the community-dwelling elderly and study the intervention methods and effectiveness indicators.

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In this study, a class support system was developed to facilitate the use of avatars in the recording of online classes. Based on the qualitative shift in education “from teaching to learning” advocated in the 1990s, the importance of active learning has become widely known. The use of ICT, such as digital teaching materials and online tools, plays an important role in the implementation of active learning. Among these possibilities, this study focused on the use of avatar technology. This is because the use of avatar technology has the potential to contribute to the transformation of students’ communication awareness in meetings and to the creation of on-demand teaching materials that attract the students’ interest. On the other hand, the use of avatars requires high cost in terms of environmental development and operation. Therefore, with the aim of supporting an easy introduction and utilization of avatars in various classes, this study designed and developed an experimental class support system consisting of an avatar meeting environment, an avatar video recording environment, and startup tools for each environment, all of which are composed of freeware and inexpensive equipment. The developed system was customized for launching experimental environments in two studies, one dealing with avatar meetings and the other with avatar video recording, and was evaluated through trials by the experimenters in each study. As a result, a stable environment was established in both trials. This paper reports on the merits and challenges of the system that were confirmed through the trials.

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A novel side-chain liquid crystal polymer (PEI-AzOH) was synthesized by the reaction of a branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) and an epoxide (Ep-AzOH) with 4-(4-(6-hydroxyhexloxy)phenylazo)phenoxy (AzOH) group. A side-chain liquid crystal polymer (PEI-AzBu) was also synthesized by the reaction of PEI and an epoxide (Ep-AzBu) with 4-(4-(butyl)phenylazo)phenoxy (AzBu) group. Their thermal properties and orientational behavior were examined. Ep-AzOH exhibited a nematic phase. PEI-AzOH exhibited smectic A and smectic B phases on heating and cooling processes. In the X-ray diffraction pattern of the smectic A phase of PEI-AzOH, the sharp inner and broad outer reflections were measured. On the other hand, the X-ray diffraction pattern of smectic B phase of PEI-AzOH consisted of the sharp inner reflection and one outer reflection. This suggests the formation of hexatic packing with long-range order within the layer. The bilayer structure was proposed for packing models of the smectic A and smectic B phases. PEI-AzBu exhibited the smectic A phase with a bilayer structure.

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In this research, in order to find a high efficiency automated valet parking lot, a multi-story car parking proposed by the authors, possible algorisms of entering and exiting are proposed. And, by combining those algorisms, efficiency comparisons of the automated valet parking lot were simulated. The algorisms were as follows: (1) The entering location number is decided with uniform random numbers. This is the most realistic entering method. (2) The target location of entering is decided in order of the smallest number available. Therefore, if a location which is close to the exit is available, even a car entering later can park there. (3) Entering cars will be parked in order of the smallest number of parking location. If locations are full, “garbage collection” will be performed to fill up the empty parking locations in order of the smallest parking location number (starting from close to the exit), then creating an empty space in a far parking location from the exit. Next, exiting algorisms which were used are as follows: (1) Move the car that was requested to exit to the exit. (2) Move the car that was requested to exit to the exit, then the latest entering car is moved to the parking location which is available. (3) Move the car that was requested to exit to the exit, then cars parked at the next parking location number are sequentially moved to the available parking spaces. By the results of simulations, which parking method had the highest efficiency as an automated valet parking lot was clearly shown, and useful features were demonstrated.

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Skyscrapers are being built all over the world so that land can be used more effectively in urban areas. This trend will continue in the future. Land prices in urban areas are high, and it is necessary to make buildings high-rise in order to lower the price per unit floor area. New problems arise as buildings become taller. For example, how to efficiently move as many persons (users) as possible to destination floors within a building during work hours and leaving hours. Even outside of those time zones, the following issue can be cited as an example. That is, how to move a small number of persons to a destination floor at low cost. The authors of this research have previously proposed a three-dimensional elevator-system for skyscrapers to solve this problem. However, the analysis regarding efficiency was not performed. In this study, a comparison of the efficiency of a 3D elevator system for skyscrapers using simulations is reported. The ‘average user elapsed time’ when commuting to work was calculated specifically by simulation and compared for each type of elevator system. The results showed that the 3D elevator system was clearly more efficient than the regular high-rise building elevator system.

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In this study, the Bi2O3 powder, which was heat-treated at 700 °C and then finely ground, was placed in tight contact with carbon in a weight ratio of 98/2. In this case, the combustion temperature of carbon alone was lowered from 660 °C to 414 °C. 39 types of metal elements M, consisting of 17 rare earth elements and Ca, Sr, Ba, Ni, Cu, Zn, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ga, In, Si, Ge, Ti, Zr, Hf, Sn, Nb, Ta, Mo, and W, were dissolved in the Bi2O3 to prepare (Bi2O3)0.942(MOx)0.058. The carbon combustion temperature was measured when the finely ground (Bi2O3)0.942(MOx)0.058 ceramic powder was with carbon in a weight ratio of 98/2 in tight contact. The carbon combustion temperature was lower for all (Bi2O3)0.942(MOx)0.058 compared to Bi2O3 alone, with the lowest carbon combustion temperature of 354 °C observed for Co. Except for Sr and, Ba, the carbon combustion temperature tended to decrease as the ionic radius of Mn+ increased. In addition, the carbon combustion temperature tended to decrease as the enthalpy of formation per oxygen atom increased.

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Polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs), which consist of a polymer network and liquid crystal material, are used in building materials and automotive windows (so-called smart windows, light-controlling liquid crystal devices, etc.). PDLCs have been researched to improve their optical properties and electric field response. In general, PDLCs are prepared by phase separation method via photopolymerization. In this study, the effects of polymerization initiators for the haze value were investigated. An alkylphenone (1-hydroxycyclohexyl-phenyl ketone (I-1)) and two types of acylphosphine oxides (bis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phenylphosphine oxide (I-2) and 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl-diphenylphosphine oxide (I-3)) were used as the initiators. I-3 increased the haze value in the initial state (0 V) and decreased the haze value when an electric field was applied. The combination of I-3 and a thiol cross-linking agent further reduced the haze value under the electric field.

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It is becoming difficult to secure parking lots especially in an urban area. Multi-story parking lots are being constructed to efficiently utilize limited parking spaces. However, the number of parking spaces per unit area has been reduced in the consideration of traffic accidents within the parking lot and the ease of movement. In addition, incidents such as theft in parking lots have become a problem. Recently, there are some valet parking systems that increase the number of parking spaces per unit area, making it easier to move around in the parking lot, and preventing incidents such as theft. The parking lot staff take care of entering and exiting the parking lot in this parking method. There were problems with labor costs and securing highly skilled personnel in this parking system. An automatic valet parking system has been devised but it has not yet been put into practical use. Several papers have proposed the basic systems, the efficient algorithms for parking a vehicle (parking), and algorithms for taking vehicles out of a parking lot (leaving). Three studies to speed up an automatic valet parking are conducted in this paper.

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