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Background: Health promotion for the elderly mainly targets improvements in physical function, and a lack of strengthening of subjective well-being as well as the creation of interaction-providing opportunities for activity and participation has been reported. Evaluations of positive and negative aspects for subjective well-being are needed. Elderly subjects were intervened through a 6-month complex-type program combining amusement and exercise and its influences on subjective well-being and physical and physiological functions were investigated. Methods: Subjects in this survey were 37 healthy elderly females living in M city, Hiroshima Prefecture (age: 69.7 ± 5.9 years old), and the survey was performed between September 2016 and March 2017. The complex-type program comprised amusement and exercise programs. The survey was performed at 4 time points during the intervention period: before the intervention and 1, 3, and 6 months during the intervention. Subjective well-being (Japanese version of the Subjective Well-being Inventory (SUBI): Mental health scores, Mental fatigue scores), salivary amylase levels, and the locomotive syndrome risk test (two-step test, stand-up test, and 25-question risk assessment) were surveyed at each time point. Regarding the duration of the intervention as a factor, changes in salivary amylase levels were analyzed using repeated measures one-way ANOVA and SUBI was tested using the Friedman test (EZR Ver 1.32). In addition, the relationship between the locomotive syndrome risk level and duration of the intervention was examined using Fisher’s test. Results: SUBI and the locomotive syndrome risk level significantly differed with time during the intervention. Slight changes were observed in salivary amylase levels during the intervention. Conclusion: The present results suggest that the complex-type program promoted interactions among community-dwelling elderly subjects and positively influenced the maintenance of and improvements in physical and physiological functions. These changes may be associated with favorable influences on the positive and negative aspects of subjective well-being.

Amusement was introduced for one month and interaction among the elderly and its influence on their physiological function and sleep were investigated. Methods: The subjects were 9 elderly females (age: 89.0 ± 4.7 years old) who periodically visited a day care service center for the elderly. The survey was performed between October 2015 and December 2015. For the amusement, Blackjack was introduced. The survey period was comprised of 3 amusement introduction periods: pre-amusement, and one week and one month after amusement introduction. In each period, the heart rate (HR), sympathetic nerve activity (CSI), and parasympathetic nerve activity (CVI) were measured during amusement, and the difference in the salivary amylase level between before and after amusement was determined. The sleep efficiency and sleeping hours were measured at night of the days with amusement. Repeated measures one-way ANOVA was performed regarding the survey period as a factor and HR, CSI, CVI, sleep efficiency, sleeping hours, and difference in the amylase level as dependent variables. Results: Significant amusement-induced changes were noted in the CVI and salivary amylase level. These were significantly lower at one month after amusement introduction than those in pre-amusement. Conclusion: Amusement-induced laughing and regret or interaction through the amusement influenced their autonomic nerve system and they may have felt comfortable.

Objective Driving ability in older people is affected by declining motor, cognitive and visual functions. We compared perceptual and cognitive skills and driving behaviour in a Japanese population. Methods We used a driving simulator to measure the effects of spatial navigation skills and eye movements on driving ability. Participants were 34 older and 20 young adults who completed a simulated driving task involving a lane change and a right turn at an intersection. We used an eye tracker to measure gaze. We measured visual recognition (Benton Judgment of Line Orientation Test (BJLO)), spatial navigation (Card-Placing Test (CPT A & B)), visual perception (Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM)) and driving ability (Stroke Drivers’ Screening Assessment). Results Older participants scored significantly lower on the BJLO, CPT-A & B and RCPM, showed a significant correlation between gaze time and CPT-A & B scores (both p Conclusion The findings indicate that older drivers have poorer eye movement control and spatial navigation. This is likely to result in delayed responses and difficulties in predicting the on-coming driving environment. Driving simulation could help older drivers in their driving abilities.

The chemical structures of six isoflavones ( 1–6 ) isolated from the kudzu root ( Pueraria lobata ) were elucidated on the basis of the NMR and MS analyses to be four isoflavone C -glycosides as 6″- O -α- d -glucopyranosylpuerarin ( 1 ), puerarin ( 2 ), 3′-methoxypuerarin ( 3 ), 6″- O -α- d -apiofranosylpuerarin ( 4 ), and two aglycons as biochanin A ( 5 ) and formononetin ( 6 ), respectively. The estrogenic activities of isolated compounds and related isoflavones were evaluated using a yeast two-hybrid assay. Genistein exhibited the highest activity among the evaluated compounds at 10 −6 M followed by daidzein (10 −5 M), baiochanin A ( 5 ) (10 −5 M), daidzin (10 −5 M), 3′,4′,7-trihydroxyisoflavone (10 −3 M), and formononetin ( 6 ) (10 −2 M). The isoflavone C -glycosides ( 1–4 ) and 4′,7-dimethoxyisoflavone showed no activities. In these results, it was found that the addition of 8- C -glucose or 3′-hydroxyl group to daidzein skeleton, or the substitution of hydroxyl functions to methoxyl groups, decreased the estrogenic activity of daidzein, on the other hand, the addition of 7- O -glucose moiety had no influence on the activity.