SummaryEffects of the time of flowering and harvest as well as the size of the fruit on the compositions of the fruit and the processed Japanese apricot liqueur (ume liqueur) were determined in the Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb.et Zucc.) 'Nanko'. Concentrations of citric acid and sorbitol in the flesh with skin increased until just before the day of full ripening and dropping stage. Growth of fruit that bloomed early was later than that of fruit that bloomed late. The fruit that bloomed early had lower concentrations of citric acid and sorbitol in the flesh with skin than fruit that bloomed late. Concentrations of citric acid and phenolics, antioxidant activity, and browning strength of the ume liqueur increased when the harvest time was delayed to just before the full ripening stage. When fruit was harvested on the same day, the larger fruit showed greater concentrations of citric acid, malic acid, sorbitol and β-carotene in the flesh with skin. Concentrations of citric acid and sorbitol and the browning strength of ume liqueur were higher when fruit above 2L size were processed. These results show that harvest time and fruit size influence the concentrations of components and the quality of both the fruit and the ume liqueur, suggesting that wellgrown and enlarged fruit are most suitable for making ume liqueur.

The relationships between surface blushing and the content of qualitative components of the Japanese apricot 'Nanko' fruit were investigated. Brightly blushed fruit covering over 25% of its surface had higher levels of citric acid, phenolics, and antioxidant activity in its flesh than non-blushed fruit. Shading apricot fruit from ultraviolet (UV) light for about 3 weeks before harvest produced a clear decrease in surface blushing, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. UV-B irradiation for 12 h to the inner canopy fruit 10 days before harvest resulted in blushing and increased the antioxidant activity. These results showed that brightly blushed fruit was rich in phenolics and antioxidant activity and that UV light played an important role in blushing, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity in the Japanese apricot 'Nanko' fruit. When fruit shaded from sunlight was exposed to sunlight for about 3 weeks before harvest by cutting off the shoot with leaves around the fruit to increase UV irradiation, surface blushing was caused, and the phenolic content and antioxidant activity in flesh were increased. On the other hand, placing reflecting films under the outer canopy for 40 days had no effect on the development of the bright red color.

Long-term practical on-site training, based on the Model Core Curriculum for Pharmaceutical Education, is a core program of the 6-year course of pharmaceutical education, introduced in Japan in 2010. In particular, medication counseling in practical training in 5th-year provides valuable opportunities for communication with real patients rather than simulated patients (SPs). However, it can also cause anxiety in 4th-year students before practical training. To address such concerns, upperclassmen (5th-and 6th-year students), who have already completed practical training, constructed and conducted a new educational program for medication counseling practice in preclinical training based on their experiences. They also developed case scenarios and played the role of patients themselves to create more realistic clinical settings. Advice from professional SPs was also provided. The 5-step program is composed of 1st counseling, 1st small group discussion (SGD) for improving counseling, 2nd revised counseling based on the 1st SGD, 2nd SGD, and development of a counseling plan and presentation. Educational eŠects of the program were evaluated by questionnaire survey after preclinical training in 4th-year students and after their practical training in 5th-year students. This new program, the Advanced Medication Counseling Practice, was found to be useful to reduce anxiety about communication with patients among 4th-year students (about 90％). Even after their practical training in 5th-year, they still appreciated usefulness of this program (about 80％). This program is still valued 4 years after its development. We developed the Advanced Medication Counseling Practice in preclinical training for junior students by senior students.

Soil types of a Japanese apricot farm in Wakayama prefecture are generally classified into brown earth, yellow soil, gray lowland soil and lithosol. This experiment investigated the characteristics of nutritient eluviation in these soils to develop guidelines for good management according to the soil type. In any soil type, the higher the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in soil was, the higher the nitrogen concentration in percolated water became. The nitrogen concentration in percolated water increased in order from gray lowland soil, brown earth, yellow soil to lithosol. The amount of cation eluviation (ionic concentration in percolated water × percolated water volume) was higher in lithosol and gray lowland soil. Total cation equivalent correlated well with total anion equivalent regardless of soil type. This positive relationship suggested that cation was leached in the order of the amount of anion such as nitrate ion and sulfuric acid ion in percolated water. These findings suggested that considerable cation was leached due to the high concentration of nitrate ion in gray lowland soil or due to the amount of percolated water in lithosol.Key Words：cation, lysimeter, nitrogen, soil type