Taisho University

本研究は，太子食品工業株式会社とともに, 豆類加工プロセスを食品化学工学的手法で評価・定量し，高効率な生産加工技術を確立することを目的に実施した一連の共同研究の成果である．まず，緑豆スプラウトの高密度従属栄養栽培手法の確立を目的に，有効係数を指標とすることで散水条件の効果の定量化を試みた．その結果，散水流量を制御することにより物質移動の寄与を高めることで高密度栽培でも単一個体栽培に匹敵する効率を維持できることを実験的に明らかにした．次に，豆乳チーズ様食品開発のための製造技術確立を目的に，高圧処理による発酵プロセスの加速化について検討した．高圧処理ではいずれの条件においても前指数因子の自然対数と活性化体積には線形関係が認められ，エンタルピー・エントロピー補償効果が観察された．この結果に基づき，加圧条件を最適化することで発酵プロセスを1週間程度に短縮することに成功した．

Abstract Non-technical summary The Earth is approaching irreversible tipping points. Markets, democracy, and technology alone cannot address these complex crises. Future Design (FD) tackles these challenges by activating human ability to prioritise future generations’ happiness over immediate gains. This research expands the FD framework and reviews a decade’s worth of studies, deepening our understanding of FD’s potential in creating mechanisms for long-term societal well-being and environmental sustainability. Technical summary The Earth is approaching irreversible tipping points across multiple domains. Despite advances in markets, democracy, and science, these systems systematically fail to prioritise future generations’ well-being – creating what we term ‘future failures’. New mechanisms are needed, such as FD. Originating in Japan in the early 2010s, FD aims to design, experiment with, and implement mechanisms that activate our futurability – the ability to prioritise the happiness of future generations over immediate gains – to tackle future failures. This paper introduces presentability and pastability alongside futurability, extending the FD framework. Placing various FD studies from the past decade within this framework, this study reviews mechanisms for activating these abilities and examines how activating one ability affects the others. These abilities are ‘leverage points’, as defined by Meadows. We explore the path to a paradigm shift by designing and using mechanisms that activate these points. This paper also highlights unknowns about FD and potential directions for its development, providing a comprehensive overview of its current state and future prospects in addressing global challenges. Social media summary Future Design: A new approach to global crises, prioritising future generations over immediate gains.

ObjectiveOutside the Japanese government’s community-based integrated care system, Buddhist temples are emerging as a resource to support caregivers of individuals with dementia living at home. However, we must critically analyze the views of secular professionals who are familiar with these activities. Thus, this study aimed to explore the characteristics and potential of caregiver cafés hosted in Buddhist temples from the perspective of healthcare and welfare professionals providing community-based integrated care by conducting two-step research: (1) a preliminary survey with Buddhist priests to understand the phenomenon; and (2) semi-structured interviews with staff providing community-based integrated care to explore its implementation.ResultsAccording to 13 Buddhist priests who organized the caregiver cafés, most temples held cafés once every month or two, while all collaborated with the community-based integrated care system. A thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews of 15 healthcare and welfare professionals identified two major categories (“temples as social resources” and “temples and priests leveraging their strengths”) and six subcategories from 143 discourses. The results indicated that temples and priests could be important social resources in community-based care systems by utilizing caregiver cafés in a society facing a shortage of care workers and an increasing number of individuals requiring care.

Social isolation is the objective state of being in little social contact, whereas loneliness is the subjective state of being lonely due to a lack of connection with others. Older adults are more susceptible to anxiety as they experience various forms of loss. Factors such as bereavement, economic status, health status, and loneliness increase the risk of depression in older adults. There is a clear association between social isolation, loneliness, anxiety, and depression, often following the pattern "social isolation→loneliness→anxiety/depression." and "anxiety/depression→loneliness". This review examines psychosocial interventions aimed at addressing isolation and loneliness among older adults.

The purpose of this study is manifold: to develop a trainer skill rating scale for metacognitive training (MCT), to determine the difficulty level of the behavioral checklist, and to examine the reliability and validity of the MCT Trainer Skills Rating Scale. In Study 1, an MCT trainer skill behavior checklist was developed with expert staff members, and a questionnaire was administered to MCT trainers. Item categorization was identical to that used in previous studies. In Study 2, a video was used to conduct the survey. All subjects were given a 1-hour training session, instructed on evaluating the MCT Trainer Skills Rating Scale, and asked to rate their trainer skills on a mock video designed for beginners and a mock video designed for advanced trainers. In Study 1, responses from 49 respondents were obtained. The survey results showed that 72 items were classified similarly to previous studies. In Study 2, two pairs were randomly selected, and weighted kappa coefficients were calculated for the sub-items of the MCT Trainer Skills Rating Scale. High agreement was obtained with K = 0.71 and K = 0.73, indicating high reliability. High reliability was obtained for all eight items of the MCT Trainer Skills Rating Scale created in this study. In addition, the video evaluation scores for the advanced trainer were significantly higher than those for the beginner trainer, suggesting that discriminant validity was confirmed among the criterion-related validity. These results confirm that the scale has both high reliability and validity.

SDG target 12.3 aims to reduce household avoidable food waste by half by 2030. This study introduces the "Tokyo Method," designed to quantify and categorize household food waste for reduction. The method divides avoidable food waste into three groups: A: unused ingredients, B: unused ready-to-be-eaten foods, and C: leftovers, with a goal of reducing their volume. Edible parts intentionally removed from the main food are placed in a separate category ”De”, while inedible parts like seeds and bones have their own classification ”Di”. An internet survey involving 1,254 participants in Japan assessed perceptions of 65 food items and their parts. Most respondents considered peels, cores, seeds, and stems of fruits as inedible, but there were exceptions like apple peels. Regarding vegetable parts like potato peels and cabbage leaves, a good number of respondents are aware that they could be eaten, but it is only a minority that believe they should be eaten, or they actually eat those parts. In conclusion, the study suggests excluding the "De" category from the primary food waste reduction target, as forcing the consumption of intentionally removed food parts is not a priority. This research sheds light on the complexities of food waste reduction, considering cultural and individual preferences regarding edible food parts.

SDG target 12.3 calls for halving food waste in retail, food service, and households by 2030. The food waste index developed for this purpose includes parts attached to food that are usually removed intentionally (“unavoidable food waste”) and counts conversion into animal feed and utilisation as biomaterial as a means of reduction. In Japan, the “Food Waste Recycling Law”, which has been in effect since 2001, promotes the recycling of food waste generated from businesses, designating feed conversion as a top priority. On the other hand, based on the more recent “Food Loss Reduction Promotion Act” of 2019, the government is currently promoting reduction in avoidable food waste to meet the SDG target. Based on statistical sources and interviews with ministry officers, this paper explains the history and achievements of Japan’s 23-year policy based on the Food Recycling Law, as well as the tension between the two legislations.