Water hydraulic systems which use tap-water as working fluid are called aqua drive systems and they can realize novel green drive sources with 100% oil-free characteristics. In our laboratory, we study to realize a clean and safe system for rehabilitation, power assist, and life support. In addition, we have developed pure aqua drive systems, which can be driven without any power source, by controlling fluidic flow and have applied such systems to emergency drive sources and disaster prevention systems. We have also developed support systems to play musical instruments by only one hand.

It is widely believed that several physiological factors contribute to how humans perceive the position and shape of objects in three dimensions. 3D and aerial display technologies leverage these factors, enabling viewers to perceive images with a sense of real depth. We continue to explore ways to achieve more natural stereoscopic vision and to make objects appear as though they truly exist in empty space.
Please view the image on the right with your right eye and the image on the left with your left eye, aligning them so that the red objects overlap. You should then perceive a sense of depth, as if the red object is floating in midair with a glass plate beneath it. This effect is known as binocular disparity, one of the key physiological factors involved in depth perception.

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of the Bayesian inference and to restore noise-degraded images under conditions of spatially correlated noise. The generative statistical models used for the original image and the noise were assumed to obey multi-dimensional Gaussian distributions whose covariance matrices are translational invariant. This study derives an exact description to be used as the expectation for the restored image by the Fourier transformation and restored an image distorted by spatially correlated noise by using a spatially uncorrelated noise model.

In this study, various mechatronics devices and control systems with pneumatic and electric actuators such as non-wearing type power assist devices, electric motorcycles, and mobile robots were developed based on MPU (embedded controller) and RTAI. The tested power assist device was attached a subject and the muscle burden was evaluated by using myoelectric sensors and a musculoskeletal simulator. In addition, in the study of electric motorcycles and mobile robots, these control systems were designed based on the analytical simulation. Through these studies, I’m going to submit papers and give presentations in domestic/international conferences.

We develop multi-precision computational routines with automatic result verification.
These routines, tracing error bounds of each steps in computation, finally give an interval in which the exact result exists.
Also, we study on tonal music generating system using MIDI interface as an application of symbolic computation.

We are developing the simple and effective methods for screening oxidative stress-induced environmental substances, and the functional foods to control the toxicity of environmental substances. Furthermore, in order to understand the psychological and physiological effects of the forest environment on humans, we are conducting comparative studies using biological oxidative and antioxidant biomarkers as indicators.

· We establish a water processing technology with the excimer lamp which does not include mercury. We perform the characteristic evaluation of the new source of light and consider whether we are established as a substitute new technology.
· The element concentration of human hair living in the same area and element concentration in water to drink are measured by ICP-MS. We examine relationship between toxic element concentration in hair and water element concentration.
· The production distinction of the farm products by stable isotope ratio analysis and the trace element analysis and marine products is studied.

Development of efficient protocol to induce functional cells from pluripotent stem cells is important for cell therapies. We aim to create highly differentiated somatic cells and functional tissues by using genetic manipulation, 3D-culture, and co-culture methods. We also investigate the regulation mechanism of differentiation in cancer cells which could be useful information for both cancer therapy and regenerative medicine.

We have been working on the mechanism of inactivation of the plant hormone auxin. In one of our research projects, we have discovered potent plant growth regulator, designated as KAKEIMIDE, which is a potent inhibitor of the GH3 enzyme that inactivate auxin. Auxin degradation inhibitor in plants can regulate auxin levels in various plant species, including crops, and thus promote rooting of cuttings and fruit set and enlargement of fruits.

We have demonstrated an inexpensive and easy-to-handle device for monitoring mammalian sperm motility made by patterning a piece of paper and measuring the activity of a specific enzyme. After applying semen to the hydrophilic center circle of the patterned paper, a tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay data can be used to help estimate the percentage of motile human sperm (sperm motility) in semen based on the character that motile human sperm moved in and on the paper.
(Matsuura et al. 2014, 2017, 2019)

・Peptide-based drug design and synthesis:
Design and synthesis of bioactive small molecules from peptide hormons and proteins based on structure activity relationships.

・Chemical Biology Research:
Development of a method for discovery of novel drug target protein using small bioactive compounds as the probes.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) utilize complex cellular systems to respond to diverse ligand concentration. Our recent work elucidated that this system functions through the phosphorylation status. Thus, we have been studing on the potential roles of this modification for the GPCR signaling. In addition, we are developping the novel ligands for desease-reated GPCRs to regulate. We hope that our studies provide an expanding conceptual view of the drug development for the regulation of GPCRs.

It is reported that a lot of natural products have unknown various function for remedy of life style diseases. For the purpose of the development of remedy for lifestyle diseases from natural resource products, the study of isolation and structural determination of active compound from plant extract have studied.

In our laboratory, we explore the untapped potential of microorganisms that play important roles in agriculture, food processing, and human health, both inside and outside our bodies. Our goal is to discover useful microorganisms with novel abilities and develop technologies to enrich our lives sustainably.

The aim of the one of my research is to develop the cultured thick and huge musclular tissue. To do this, I am developing the blood vescle in cultured tissues by using selfaggregation technique.
I am studying the mechanisms of muscular hypertrophy by Kaatsu training (pressurized muscle training) in cellular level to develop the method to treat musclular atrophy etc. Also I am studying the effects of physical environments (temperature, air contact, and ultrasonic wave irratiation, etc.) around blood in extracorporeal circulation devices such as artificial carcdiopulmonary device or dialysis cdevice on blood coagulation to develop the high-performance extracorporeal blood circulation device.

I study the biosynthetic pathway of indican (a precursor of indigo). As an application, I attempt the mass production of indigo in E. coli.

I analyze the intracellular function of several unique proteins from a slime mold.

Our group is interested in developing new synthetic methodologies to enable synthesis of biologically active natural compounds and their derivatives in environmental friendly manner. As such manners, we have developed metal-free regioselective cycloaddition of highly reactive o-quinone to form 1,4-benzodioxane and a procedure for construction of benzene ring from o-quinone and terminal alkynes through cycloaddition and photo-decarboxylation. We have also reported concise synthetic route to KDO, a kind of carbohydrate, including elimination of cyclic sulfite as a key step. By collaborative research with a company, functional monomers for dental adhesive resin cements have been developed. 　

Denatired protein forms insoluble aggrigate. Chemical cationization of decatured protein s them water soluble. Based on this protein cationization method, we have studied two theme as described later. Left panel shows the outline of cationized protein transduction for living mammalian cells。Cationized protein efficiently adosorbed to negatively charged cell surface and uptaked by endocytosis. Right panel shows application of cationized protein for adosorbent of autoantibody. Denatured and cationized whole antigen immobilized on adsorber would be possible to capture antibodies with various epitope.

Animals including humans have beautiful pigments on the body surface. In the pigmentations, melanosomes, specialized organelles for melanin generation, are synthesized in pigment cells called melanocytes and subsequently transferred from melanocytes to surrounding skin and hair keratinocytes. Although to understand melanosome transfer is important for developing cosmetics and pigment biology, molecular and cellular mechanisms of melanosome transfer have long been unclear.
I recently established a novel live imaging technique that enabled to directly analyze melanosome transfer in skin tissue using chicken embryos.I am going to elucidate the whole picture of the intercellular transfer of melanosomes by using the new technique.