Hypothermia is a condition in which body temperature falls below 35 °C, resulting from exposure to low environmental temperatures or underlying medical conditions. Postmortem examinations have revealed increased levels of fatty acids in blood and lipid droplet formation in renal tubules during hypothermia. However, the causes and implications of these findings are unclear. This study aimed to analyze the biological significanc...

In our previous study setting, climatotherapy programme consisted of six sessions – four in the mid-mountain area and two in a flat park. For all sessions, the subjects underwent climatotherapy in the morning under slightly cool conditions. During each session, the subjects’ blood pressure, pulse rate, skin temperature, blood lactate, salivary cortisol and mood profile were recorded, and meteorological data were collected at t...

An accelerated climatotherapy programme was evaluated for use with busy people in mid-mountain and flat lowland areas. A total of 43 urban residents participated in this climatotherapy programme. Participants’ blood pressure, pulse rate, peripheral skin temperature and levels of salivary amylase, salivary cortisol and blood lactate were measured, and they completed the Profile of Mood Status questionnaire. In the mid-mountain...

Farmlands are becoming more important as waterfowl foraging habitats, while natural wetlands are being lost globally. However, it is unclear how waterfowl coexist in agricultural landscapes by resource partitioning. We evaluated the diets of seven sympatric dabbling ducks foraging in rice paddy and lotus fields around Lake Kasumigaura, the second largest lake in Japan, during two wintering seasons (from November to February) b...

The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is reportedly very high. Among SDBs, the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is higher than previously believed, with patients having moderate-to-severe OSA accounting for approximately 20% of adult males and 10% of postmenopausal women not only in Western countries but also in Eastern countries, including Japan. Since 1998, when health insurance coverage became availab...

The form-factor for the stem surface area is directly proportional to the square root of the form-factor for the stem volume, i.e., the square root law of the form-factor. Although the square root law addresses the stems of coniferous trees, the nature of the proportional coefficient of the law has not been discussed. In this study, we demonstrated that the coefficient indicates the stem taper; therefore, it is named “Taper In...