Effect of Crosslinkers on Optical and Mechanical Behavior of Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystal Elastomers.

Chiral nematic (N*) liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are suitable for fabricating stimuli-responsive materials. As crosslinkers considerably affect the N*LCE network, we investigated the effects of crosslinking units on the physical properties of N*LCEs. The N*LCEs were synthesized with different types of crosslinkers, and the relationship between the N*LC polymeric system and the crosslinking unit was investigated. The N*LCEs emit color by selective reflection, in which the color changes in response to mechanical deformation. The LC-type crosslinker decreases the helical twisting power of the N*LCE by increasing the total molar ratio of the mesogenic compound. The N*LCE exhibits mechano-responsive color changes by coupling the N*LC orientation and the polymer network, where the N*LCEs exhibit different degrees of pitch variation depending on the crosslinker. Moreover, the LC-type crosslinker increases the Young's modulus of N*LCEs, and the long methylene chains increase the breaking strain. An analysis of experimental results verified the effect of the crosslinkers, providing a design rationale for N*LCE materials in mechano-optical sensor applications.

Determinants of life satisfaction among Japanese elderly women attending health care and welfare service facilities.

Prolonged life expectancy must be recognized as an excellent achievement of modern medicine, but not all the elderly people are satisfied with their lives. Life satisfaction is a multi-dimensional issue that depends on many objective and subjective characteristics. In this study, we aimed at investigating the factors affecting life satisfaction of 314 elderly Japanese women attending in 28 elderly-care and welfare facilities at Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Our results indicated that elderly subjects with depression tendencies always show significantly lower degrees of life satisfaction than others who are not depressed (p<0.001) regardless of their cognitive status. Furthermore, elderly women who shared decision for their living place and whose opinions were considered for daily life decisions reported significantly more life satisfaction levels than others. We conclude that elderly life satisfaction is affected by various determinants however, with different influencing weight. Life satisfaction of elderly people, with or without dementia, is greatly affected by their mood status and share in decision making. Avoiding elderly people depressive mood, sharing them in various daily decisions, considering their opinions, and allowing them to decide their elderly-care facility placement are crucial determinants for their life satisfaction and essential for their coping, adaptation, well-being and successful aging.

Effects of lifestyle habits and eating meals together with the family on the prevalence of obesity among school children in Tokushima, Japan: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey.

Obesity in children has become a major global public health concern. The prevention of obesity must start from early childhood in order to establish sound lifestyle habits and promote healthy adulthood. In this study, we evaluated factors associated with the prevention of obesity and the development of healthy lifestyle habits in children. A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was performed in elementary and junior high school students in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, during the summer of 2004. The questionnaire consisted of 30 items such as physique, sleep, eating habits, diet, exercise, free time, and attending after-school lessons. Our study revealed that eating meals as a family every day is associated with a lower rate of obesity as well as getting good lifestyle habits such as eating balanced meals and getting enough sleep. Of the 3,291 students who responded to the questionnaire, 2,688 (81.7%) reported that they eat meals with their family every day. The percentage of students who eat meals with their family every day decreased with increasing school grade, with the lowest percent in the junior high school students. However, the results regarding female junior high school students revealed a marked association between eating meals with the family every day and good lifestyle habits. We recommend that parents and school teaching staff encourage the establishment of sound, healthy lifestyle habits in children from early childhood as an effective measure for the prevention of obesity.

Prevalence of metabolic complications in children with severe obesity.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present paper was to clarify the prevalence of metabolic complications in severely obese children. METHODS: The subjects of the present study were 367 severely obese Japanese children in Tokushima, who were more than 150% of the standard weight for their sex and height (school grades 1-9; age range, 6-16 years). Data concerning anthropometric and metabolic parameters (body fat %, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, blood glucose, serum insulin, alanine aminotransferase, and blood pressure) were analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of each abnormality in obese children was high compared with that in the general population. Metabolic variables were correlated with each other. A total of 80.4% of severely obese children had at least one complication. CONCLUSION: Severely obese children have various metabolic abnormalities even during their early school years. Intervention by primary physicians in cooperation with schools is needed for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases.

Correlation of month and season of birth with height, weight and degree of obesity of rural Japanese children.

Month and season of birth are thought to influence height, weight and degree of obesity in schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study was designed to measure the height and weight of all children aged 6-15 years attending primary and junior high schools in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Data were standardized (z-scores) and analysed separately by gender and age. The mean z-score for height and weight were the highest in subjects born during the months of spring and the lowest in those born during the months of winter (p < 0.0001), whereas the means were significantly higher in children born during the months of summer than in those born during the months of autumn (p < 0.0001). A gradually decreasing trend of height and weight was observed in children of both genders born between May and Mar (from spring to winter). There was no significant difference in degree of obesity among the four seasons of birth for boys and girls. The highest prevalence of obese boys have born during spring (among 6-year-old boys) and summer (among 7-year-old boys), whereas the highest prevalence of obese girls have born during spring (among 6-year-old girls) and winter (among 10-year-old girls). Our findings suggest that month and season of birth influence height and weight of schoolchildren in Tokushima but not their degree of obesity.