Estimation equation for the evaluation of the health status of middle-aged and elderly individuals based on the results of physical fitness tests: a proposal for use as an initial screening test

This study prepared an estimation equation for the evaluation of health status of middle-aged and elderly males and females on the basis of physical fitness tests easily performed at fitness facilities not equipped to conduct medical checkups. The participants were 2,096 males and females aged 30 to 69 years. All participants underwent medical checkups and physical fitness tests, which, based on the judgment of a medical doctor, determined categorization into two groups; namely, a healthy group and an unhealthy group. Multiple discriminant analysis was applied to prepare an estimation equation, and correct discriminant probabilities were used to evaluate the validity of the equation. Physical fitness variables selected for the equations were height, weight, body mass index, percent body fat, grip strength, one leg balance with eyes closed, reaction time, sit-ups, Vo2max, and age. The correct discriminant probabilities of discriminant functions obtained for males and females were 66.5 % to 76.6 % and 62.7 % to 76.4 %, respectively. This suggested that health status could be evaluated with relatively high accuracy by the estimation equation derived from the physical fitness test. The equation presented in this study as an initial screening test is useful in the practical field of exercise instruction for the promotion and maintenance of health in middle-aged and elderly individuals

Changes in aromatase (CYP19) gene promoter usage in non-small cell lung cancer

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系In humans, aromatase (CYP19) gene expression is regulated via alternative promoters. Activation of each promoter gives rise to a CYP19 mRNA species with a unique 5′-untranslated region. Inhibition of aromatase has been reported to downregulate lung tumor growth. The genetic basis for CYP19 gene expression and aromatase activity in lung cancer remains poorly understood. We analyzed tissues from 15 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to evaluate CYP19 promoter usage and promoter-specific aromatase mRNA levels in NSCLC tumor tissues and adjacent non-malignant tissues. CYP19 promoter usage was determined by multiplex RT-PCR and aromatase mRNA levels were measured with real-time RT-PCR. In non-malignant tissues, aromatase mRNA was primarily derived from activation of CYP19 promoter I.4. Although promoter I.4 usage was also dominant in tumor tissues, I.4 activation was significantly lower compared with adjacent non-malignant tissues. Activity of promoters I.3, I.1 and I.7 was significantly higher in tumor tissues compared with non-malignant tissues. In 4 of 15 cases of non-small cell lung cancer, switching from CYP19 promoter I.4 to the alternative promoters II, I.1 or I.7 was observed. In 9 cases, there were significantly higher levels of aromatase mRNA in lung tumor tissues compared with adjacent non-malignant tissues. These findings suggest aberrant activation of alternative CYP19 promoters that may lead to upregulation of local aromatase expression in some cases of NSCLC. Further studies are needed to examine the impact of alternative CYP19 promoter usage on local estrogen levels and lung tumor growth. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Small airway disease associated with Sjögren’s syndrome: Clinico-pathological correlations

SummaryBackgroundRelationships among clinical, physiological, imaging and pathological findings of small airway disease associated with Sjögren’s syndrome have remained unclear.Subjects and methods: We retrospectively studied 14 patients who underwent surgical lung biopsy and who were diagnosed with small airway disease associated with primary or secondary Sjögren’s syndrome. We compared clinical, bronchoalveolar lavage, physiological, imaging and pathological findings between primary and secondary Sjögren’s syndrome. We scored HRCT and pathological abnormalities and investigated correlations among physiological, HRCT and pathological data, changes in physiological parameters and in HRCT scores after two years of treatment, as well as correlations between these values and pathological scores.ResultsBronchoalveolar lavage fluid, physiological, imaging and pathological findings of the airways did not significantly differ between primary and secondary Sjögren’s syndrome. Air trapping on HRCT negatively correlated with MEF50 and MEF25. Although lymphoid cell infiltration and peribronchiolar fibrosis were the most common pathologies, constrictive change scores correlated negatively with MEF50 and MEF25, positively with air trapping scores and negatively with improvements after therapy in MEF50, MEF25 and air trapping.ConclusionsConstrictive change was the most significant determinant of physiological and imaging presentations and of changes in these factors after therapy for small airway disease associated with Sjögren’s syndrome

Dual-time-point 18F-FDG PET imaging for diagnosis of disease type and disease activity in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia

Purpose Individual clinical courses of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) are variable and difficult to predict because the pathology and disease activity are contingent, and chest computed tomography (CT) provides little information about disease activity. In this study, we applied dual-time-point [18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), commonly used for diagnosis of malignant tumors, to the differential diagnosis and prediction of disease progression in IIP patients. Methods Fifty patients with IIP, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF, n=21), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP, n=18), and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP, n=11), underwent 18F-FDG PET examinations at two time points: Scan 1 at 60 min (early imaging) and Scan 2 at 180 min (delayed imaging) after 18F-FDG injection. The standardized uptake values (SUV) at the two points and the retention index (RI-SUV) calculated from them were evaluated and compared with chest CT findings, disease progression, and disease types. To evaluate short term disease progression, all patients were examined pulmonary function test every 3 months for 1 year after 18F-FDG PET scanning. Results The early SUV for COP (2.47±0.74) was significantly higher than that for IPF (0.99±0.29, P=0.0002) or NSIP (1.22±0.44, P=0.0025). When an early SUV cut-off value of 1.5 and greater was used to distinguish COP from IPF and NSIP, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 90.9%, 94.3%, and 93.5%, respectively. The RI-SUV for IPF and NSIP lesions was significantly greater in patients with deteriorated pulmonary function after 1-year of follow-up (progressive group, 13.0±8.9%) than in cases without deterioration during the 1-year observation period (stable group, -16.8±5.9%, P<0.0001). However, the early SUV for all IIP types provided no additional information of disease progression. When an RI-SUV cut-off value of 0% and greater was used to distinguish progressive IIPs from stable IIPs, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 95.5%, 100%, and 97.8%, respectively. Conclusion Early-SUV and RI-SUV obtained from dual-time point 18F-FDG PET are useful parameter for the differential diagnosis and prediction of disease progression in patients with IIP

A flexible representation of omic knowledge for thorough analysis of microarray data

BACKGROUND: In order to understand microarray data reasonably in the context of other existing biological knowledge, it is necessary to conduct a thorough examination of the data utilizing every aspect of available omic knowledge libraries. So far, a number of bioinformatics tools have been developed. However, each of them is restricted to deal with one type of omic knowledge, e.g., pathways, interactions or gene ontology. Now that the varieties of omic knowledge are expanding, analysis tools need a way to deal with any type of omic knowledge. Hence, we have designed the Omic Space Markup Language (OSML) that can represent a wide range of omic knowledge, and also, we have developed a tool named GSCope3, which can statistically analyze microarray data in comparison with the OSML-formatted omic knowledge data. RESULTS: In order to test the applicability of OSML to represent a variety of omic knowledge specifically useful for analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana microarray data, we have constructed a Biological Knowledge Library (BiKLi) by converting eight different types of omic knowledge into OSML-formatted datasets. We applied GSCope3 and BiKLi to previously reported A. thaliana microarray data, so as to extract any additional insights from the data. As a result, we have discovered a new insight that lignin formation resists drought stress and activates transcription of many water channel genes to oppose drought stress; and most of the 20S proteasome subunit genes show similar expression profiles under drought stress. In addition to this novel discovery, similar findings previously reported were also quickly confirmed using GSCope3 and BiKLi. CONCLUSION: GSCope3 can statistically analyze microarray data in the context of any OSML-represented omic knowledge. OSML is not restricted to a specific data type structure, but it can represent a wide range of omic knowledge. It allows us to convert new types of omic knowledge into datasets that can be used for microarray data analysis with GSCope3. In addition to BiKLi, by collecting various types of omic knowledge as OSML libraries, it becomes possible for us to conduct detailed thorough analysis from various biological viewpoints. GSCope3 and BiKLi are available for academic users at our web site

Multiple noncoding exons 1 of nuclear receptors NR4A family (nerve growth factor-induced clone B, Nur-related factor 1 and neuron-derived orphan receptor 1) and NR5A1 (steroidogenic factor 1) in human cardiovascular and adrenal tissues

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Objective: Nuclear receptors are involved in a wide variety of functions, including aldosteronogenesis. Nuclear receptor families NR4A [nerve growth factor-induced clone B (NGFIB), Nur-related factor 1 (NURR1) and neuron-derived orphan receptor 1 (NOR1)] and NR2F [chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor 1 (COUP-TFI), COUP-TFII and NR2F6) activate, whereas NR5A1 [steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1)] represses CYP11B2 (aldosterone synthase) gene transcription. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism of differential regulation of nuclear receptors between cardiovascular and adrenal tissues. Methods: We collected tissues of artery (n = 9), cardiomyopathy muscle (n = 9), heart muscle (noncardiomyopathy) (n = 6), adrenal gland (n = 9) and aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) (n = 9). 5′-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) identified transcription start sites. Multiplex reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) determined use of alternative noncoding exons 1 (ANEs). Results: In adrenocortical H295R cells, angiotensin II, KCl or cAMP, all stimulated CYP11B2 transcription and NR4A was upregulated, whereas NR2F and NR5A1 were downregulated. 5′-RACE and RT-PCR revealed four ANEs of NGFIB (NR4A1), three of NURR1 (NR4A2), two of NOR1 (NR4A3) and two of SF1 (NR5A1) in cardiovascular and adrenal tissues. Quantitative multiplex RT-PCR showed NR4A and NR5A1 differentially employed multiple ANEs in a tissue-specific manner. The use of ANEs of NGFIB and NURR1 was significantly different between APA and artery. Changes in use of ANEs of NGFIB and NOR1 were observed between cardiomyopathy and noncardiomyopathy. The NR4A mRNA levels in artery were high compared with cardiac and adrenal tissues, whereas the NR5A1 mRNA level in adrenal tissues was extremely high compared with cardiovascular tissues. Conclusion: NR4A and NR5A1 genes are complex in terms of alternative promoter use. The use of ANEs may be associated with the pathophysiology of the heart and adrenal gland. © 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Fuel reduction in coastal squid jigging boats equipped with various combinations of conventional metal halide lamps and low-energy LED panels

Application of the low-energy light emitting diode (LED) is considered as a possible measure for fuel saving in the squid jigging fishery. We monitored fuel consumption of 14 coastal squid jigging boats ranging in size from 6.6 to 19. gross tons (GT) operating in the northern and western waters of the Sea of Japan in 2009-2011. In summer in the northern waters, squid boats of 19. GT consumed approximately 900. l in one operation that lasted from the afternoon to the next morning and 54% of the fuel was used during jigging with 53 conventional metal halide lamps (MHs) of 159. kW in total. In winter in the western waters, the total amount of fuel consumed in conventional operations of the 6.6-16. GT boats was less, but fuel consumption during jigging with lamps accounted for 70-78% of the total consumption due to close fishing grounds. The relationship between fuel consumption (l) and energy (kW. h) during jigging with lamps was expressed as a linear regression containing effects of the boat size and the inherent character of each boat. Fuel consumption rate decreases on average 0.28. l/kW. h by using LEDs with a reduced number of MHs. When 9. kW LEDs were employed with 24. MHs for 19. GT boat in the western water in summer, 24% fuel saving was estimated

Observation of the Specific Heat Jump in the Se-Substituted MoTe₂ Single Crystals

1T’-MoTe2 has gained considerable attention owing to its topological character. This material undergoes spatial inversion symmetry at 300 K. A structural transition to the Td phase, which is represented by a kink in the resistivity, was observed below 250 K without inversion symmetry along the c-axis, while superconductivity was observed at 0.1 K. Substitution of Se into this material suppressed the appearance of the kink structure and increased the superconducting transition temperature to 2 K, which is consistent with previously reported results on polycrystalline samples. However, a specific heat jump was observed in the obtained single crystals, which did not exhibit kink structures in their resistivity. The results suggest that the Td structure was not suppressed entirely after Se substitution and that superconductivity was achieved without inversion symmetry

Contribution of Physical Fitness Component to Health Status in Middle-aged and Elderly Females

金沢大学人間社会研究域人間科学系This study determined the physical fitness component that contributes to improving and maintaining health status for each age group as well as quantifying the degree of the relationship between health status and physical fitness in middle-aged and elderly females. The participants were 2,371 females aged 30 to 69 years. Ten physical fitness tests and medical checkups were performed. The participants were divided into a healthy group and an unhealthy group according to health status. Multiple discriminant analysis was applied to the multivariate data. Correct discriminant probabilities of the multiple discriminant function to discriminate the healthy and unhealthy groups for females ranged from 63.0% to 77.5%. These results suggest that there is a relatively high relationship between health status and physical fitness level for middle-aged and elderly females. With each individual\u27s discriminant score calculated by the obtained multiple discriminant function as the index of the degree of health, the Pearson\u27s correlation coefficient of the discriminant score and the performance in each physical fitness test were calculated. The aging change from 30 to 69 years old was classified into four patterns according to the contribution. The result of this study is considered to be useful as objective data to prepare an exercise program considering the contribution of the physical fitness component of health status