Mitsuo Deguchi

The effects of exercise in forest and urban environments on sympathetic nervous activity of normal young adults.

In Japan, forest-air bathing and walking (shinrin-yoku) has been proposed as a health-facilitating activity in which people spend a short period of time in a forest environment. Initially, we examined the usefulness of salivary amylase activity as an indicator of an individuals stress levels in a forest environment. The circadian rhythm of salivary amylase activity was measured in healthy young male subjects under stress-free conditions. The salivary amylase activity remained relatively constant throughout the day. Salivary amylase activity was then measured before and after walking in both urban and forest environments using a hand-held monitor. Our results indicated that (i) the circadian rhythm fluctuations in salivary amylase activity were much smaller than the stressor-induced variations; (ii) salivary amylase activity was an excellent indicator of the changes in sympathetic nervous activity; and (iii) the forest was a good environment in which people could experience much less environment-derived stress.

Non-verbal Communication Method Based on a Biochemical Marker for People with Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities

This study evaluated a novel non-verbal communication method for people with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID) based on a biochemical marker, salivary amylase. The physical and psychological status of 10 people with SMID was quantitatively evaluated using a hand-held salivary amylase activity monitor. Each patient needed daily gastric and/or bronchial tube exchanges and these medical procedures were thought to cause severe distress and pain. Salivary amylase activity and heart rate were simultaneously measured during 32 medical procedures. The medical procedures resulted in a significant mean increase for individuals of 70% in salivary amylase activity. The increase in salivary amylase activity was more than four-fold that observed for heart rate. The structural equation modelling analysis also demonstrated a significant correlation between pain and salivary amylase activity. Our data indicate that salivary amylase activity might be used as a non-verbal method of assessing pain in people with SMID.

Formaldehyde degradation filter via recombinant E. coli enzyme

In order to develop a bioremediation process to degrade formaldehyde gas from house interiors, a formaldehyde degradation filter using immobilized recombinant FDH protein was fabricated. As the results, we have successfully cloned the FDH gene into E.coli and extracted highly purified recombinant FDH protein of 12.4 kU/L. Using the extracted recombinant FDH protein and immobilizing it on a filter we have experimentally verified the degradation capability of such a filter for formaldehyde gas for bioremediation.

Inactivation of atmospheric bacteria using lytic enzyme mixture

The mass of air breathed by a human per day is equivalent to 10-times the mass of food consumed in that time. However, fundamental safety measures for atmospheric bacterial control have not yet been implemented. The purpose of our research is to develop a cell wall Iytic filter using a cell wall Iytic enzyme, which can inactivate the bacteria in air that cause infectious diseases by decomposing their cell envelope. In this study, the use of Iytic enzyme mixture was suggested, including glycosidase, protease and lipase. The performance of the Iytic enzyme mixture was evaluated using lysozyme, a typical Iytic enzyme, as a control. The substrate that we used was Micrococcus luteus, a gram-positive bacteria. The experimental results showed that the use of the Iytic enzyme mixture exhibited a Iytic rate per hour that was 13 - 39% greater than the control. Furthermore, although there are some different phases during bacterium multiplication, the Iytic rate per hour improved for all of the phases when the Iytic enzyme mixture was used.