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Turnover among preschool and nursery school teachers is an important issue. The present study attempted to assess the factors of early childhood teacher retention and turnover. Semistructured interviews were conducted with ten participants who had the experience being early childhood teachers. We analyzed these interview records using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA). The M-GTA provided a structure and framework for explaining teacher retention and turnover. As a result, 17 concepts and 5 categories were generated. The categories were as follows: (1)comfortable workplace, (2)gaining enough experience and then getting something in the future, (3)taking the cue for the foresight, (4)close relationships with co-workers, children and the children’s families, (5)the social system which can not be avoided.

透析液の製造工程管理において，細菌の汚染状態を把握し対策を講じることが，透析患者への悪影響を防ぐために重要である．細菌検出の手段として，高感度に細菌の汚染状態を把握するためにはメンブレンフィルター法（以下，MF法）を用いて検査することが必要である．今回われわれは，MF法製品である日本ポール社製37mmクオリティモニターおよびマイクロファンネルを，R2A/TGE寒天および液体培地使用下にて用いた．標準菌2菌種（Pseudomonas fluorescence, Methylobacterium extorquens）と臨床現場の透析液中から単離された1菌種（Wild type）のそれぞれを透析液中に播種した試験液を用いて，各種MF法における細菌の測定精度を，細菌コロニー数の計測結果を基にして，平板塗抹法（R2A寒天培地）と比較した．その結果，今回用いたMF法製品と培養方法との組み合わせの全てが，基準となるR2A寒天培地上のコロニー数（Pseudomonas fluorescence（59.3cfu/枚），Methylobacterium extorquens（62.5cfu/枚），Wild type（38.6cfu/枚））に対して，細菌回収率に必要な70％以上を上回っており，良好な回収率を得ることが可能であった．今回評価したMF法製品は，各工程の細菌管理に有効なツールとして十分に活用できるものと考えられた．

The distribution characteristics of a dye in single melamine resin wall microcapsules containing a dye/toluene solution are studied by a laser trapping-absorption microspectroscopy technique. In the case of Disperse Orange 13 as a dye, the molar absorptivity determined from the slope of a dye absorbance-capsule diameter (d) plot agrees well with that observed in a homogeneous toluene solution, indicating that the dye is solubilized homogeneously in the inner toluene solution of the capsule. For tetraphenylporphyrins (MTPP: Zn(II)TPP, Co(II)TPP, or H(2)TPP), however, the d dependence of absorbance shows a sigmoidal curve. Since absorbance of a ZnTPP/toluene droplet before polymerization of the melamine resin increases linearly with an increase in the droplet diameter, the sigmoidal d dependence of the absorbance is concluded to originate from distribution of the dye into the resin wall. Detailed analyses of the data indicate that the partitioning ratio of the dye between the toluene and resin phases is dependent on the capsule diameter. Size-dependent distribution of MTPP in single microcapsules is discussed on the basis of a proposed model and the d dependence of the dye absorbance, and it is concluded that the distribution of MTPP to the melamine resin wall is facilitated for larger microcapsules.

Models and the relevant equations giving optical absorbance of an analyte (i.e., dye) confined in a small volume with different shapes and sizes (sample dimension, D) are given, and factors governing absorbance are discussed. Dye absorbance is shown to be dependent on the three-dimensional sample structure: films (1-D), tubes (2-D), and spheres (3-D). The magnitude of the dimension effect on absorbance is determined by the size of both the sample and the probe beam. Furthermore, dye distribution characteristics in 2-D and 3-D systems also affect absorbance; a dye distributed exclusively to the surface layer of a 2-D or 3-D sample gave an absorbance 0.50- or 0.33-fold of that homogeneously distributed, respectively. If a dye is distributed in the inner volume of the sample alone, absorbance increases over that for homogeneous distribution. Effects of sample dimension, dye distribution characteristics, and the size of the probe beam in absorption microspectroscopy are discussed on the basis of the proposed models, and an experimental check of the models is presented.

Absorption microspectroscopy has been conducted to study chemical properties of single melamine-resin microcapsules containing a zinc tetraphenylporphine (ZnTPP)/toluene solution. Although absorbance of ZnTPP in the capsule increased with increasing the capsule diameter, its tendency was much smaller than that expected from a homogeneous distribution of ZnTPP in the inner toluene solution. The results were discussed in terms of a distribution of ZnTPP in both the melamine-resin and toluene phases.