Mimasaka University

Abstract Due to its large thermal stability, Al-phase D, the (Al,Fe3+)2SiO6H2 member of the dense hydrous magnesium silicate (DHMS) phase D, may survive along hot subduction geotherms or even at ambient mantle temperatures in the Earth’s transition zone and lower mantle, therefore potentially playing a major role as a water reservoir and carrier in the Earth’s interior. We have investigated the crystal structure and high-pressure behavior of Fe-bearing Al-phase D with a composition of Al1.53(2)Fe0.22(1) Si0.86(1)O6H3.33(9) by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction. While the structure of pure Al-phase D (Al2SiO6H2) has space group P63/mcm and consists of equally populated and half-occupied (Al,Si)O6 octahedra, Fe-incorporation in Al-phase D seems to induce partial ordering of the cations over the octahedral sites, resulting in a change of the space group from P63/mcm to P6322 and in well-resolved diffuse scattering streaks observed in X-ray images. The evolution of the unit-cell volume of Fe-bearing Al-phase D between room pressure and 38 GPa, determined by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell, is well described by a third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state having an isothermal bulk modulus KT0 = 166.3(15) GPa and first pressure derivative KT0′ = 4.46(12). Above 38 GPa, a change in the compression behavior is observed, likely related to the high-to-low spin crossover of octahedrally coordinated Fe3+. The evolution of the unit-cell volume across the spin crossover was modeled using a recently proposed formalism based on crystal-field theory, which shows that the spin crossover region extends from approximately 30 to 65 GPa. Given the absence of abrupt changes in the compression mechanism of Fe-bearing Al-phase D before the spin crossover, we show that the strength of H-bonds and likely their symmetrization do not greatly affect the elastic properties of phase D solid solutions, independently of their compositions.

This study was conducted in January 2010 to identify influential factors for utilization of local produce in school lunch services and factor-correlations in terms of employment types and item types and to review the evaluation index for shokuiku. The research participants were 56 nutrition teachers, 91 school principals, and 23 school lunch directors. The study revealed that school lunch staff had high awareness and behavioral motivation for using local ingredients. School lunch directors were concerned about managerial aspects such as "high price" and "not enough variety and quantity" for making lunches with local ingredients only. The principals expressed high opinion on educational or administrative advantages of using local ingredients in "increased number of local cuisine in the menu" and "securing food safety" but showed low awareness on problems related to using local produce to cook for entire student body such as "longer cooking time" and "not enough providers." Correlation between questionnaire items revealed that there was a strong positive relation between items emphasizing advantages of using local produce. The results showed that using local produce for providing school lunches could induce changes in behaviors, such as frequenting local produce markets, and it is considered to become a good evaluation index for developing shokuiku.

Artificial arm is an auxiliary product that replaces arms. They have the function of complementing the appearance and supporting daily life. In recent years, there are also high-performance prosthetic devices, such as those that allow intuitive operation using myoelectrics. However, there are disadvantages such as the metal parts being too heavy, expensive, and difficult to maintain. Therefore, this study is developing lightweight, low-cost prostheses that are easy to maintain using 3D printer, resin materials, and pneumatic artificial muscles. This study describes three experiments and the results. The first is how to make pneumatic efficient artificial muscle. The second is the grip of artificial arm. The third is the shape it holds and its water resistance.

Previous studies have shown that the use of a baby-walker during the first year after birth of a baby, when the motor skill is most significantly developed, may affect the subsequent development of the child. However, since trends in use of other infant equipment have not been investigated, it is not clear what kind of infant equipment is used at each stage of the infantile development. The present study was usage survey of infant equipment, including those other than baby-walkers, for newborns and infants during their first year of life. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire targeting 612 infants in Hyogo, Okayama, and Tottori prefectures in Japan, resulting in 307 valid responses, which have revealed their usage of infant equipment. Some items of infant equipment that are used for a longer time than baby-walkers may restrict infant. While the infant equipment increases the safety of the lives of infants, our data suggests the possibility that those devices may also limit their self-directed, which is important for gross motor development.

Key Words: scale rating for intentionality, reasons for and causes of acts

There is limited evidence in Japan regarding the psychosocial determinants of fruit/vegetable intake. We performed a cross-sectional study of people aged 18 years or older in four regions of Japan; 2308 (men: 1012, women: 1296) individuals who completed the questionnaires were included. We found that 24.8% of people were aware of the current recommendations for vegetables and 13.2% for fruit and that “ability to design meals” and “availability when eating outside of the home” were the most important factors related to self-efficacy and barriers to fruit and vegetable intake, respectively. People with high self-efficacy (OR: 3.16; 95% CI: 2.17, 4.60 for fruit; OR: 4.52; 95% CI: 3.08, 6.64 for vegetables) were more likely to consume more fruit and vegetables. People with high scores on attitude (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.06, 2.24) and social support (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 1.11, 2.27) were more likely to consume more fruit. People with high perceived barriers (OR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.98) were less likely to consume fruit. This study suggests a need to increase the general population’s awareness of the fruit and vegetable intake recommendations; facilitating positive attitudes, self-efficacy, and social support for individuals and strengthening the ability of individuals to design meals with more vegetables and fruit might be useful intervention programs.

To examine the inhibitory effect of whole grain paddy rice diet (WPR) feeding on the colonization of Campylobacter jejuni in the cecum of broiler chicks, we performed the following examination. Sixty female broiler chicks (14 days of age) were allocated into two groups, thirty birds were fed a ground corn diet (GC) as a control group, and 30 chicks were fed WPR as an examination group. After feeding with the different diets for 16 days, six chicks were selected from each group (12 chicks in total), and each chick was inoculated with 2×103 colony-forming units of C. jejuni GTC03263. Forty-eight hours after the bacterial inoculation (the birds continued to be fed with the corresponding diets after the bacterial inoculation), the chicks (six from each group) were killed and dissected to detect bacterial colonization in the cecum. The other six chicks were dissected to weigh the chick gizzard and to measure the pH of its contents. No bacterial colonization was observed in the cecum of chicks in the WPR group, whereas bacteria were found in the cecum of five of six chicks in the GC group. The average ratios of gizzard weight to body weight of the WPR-fed chicks was significantly higher than that of the GC-fed chicks, whereas the average pH value of the gizzard contents was not different between the two groups. These results suggest that WPR feeding in broiler chicks has a positive effect on development of the gizzard muscle and grinding activity of the gizzard. Increased grinding activity may eliminate the regional differences in pH within the gizzard, resulting in less bacterial survival in the gizzard and then less bacterial colonization in the cecum of WPR-fed chicks than in GC-fed chicks.