Sequential pattern mining for activity diaries : A case study of housewives living in central Tokyo

Sequence alignment methods have been applied in classifying activity sequences for time geographic researches. However, many sequence alignment methods cannot easily find the characteristics or "motifs" of activity patterns. A sequential pattern mining method, called Prefix Span is applied to activity sequences in this study. Prefix Span successfully determined the motifs in the activity sequences of housewives living in central Tokyo. To examine the influence of the Internet on activity sequences, the frequencies of motifs were compared between two groups: a group that used the Internet for housework, and a group that did not. The results indicated that Internet usage changed the order of activities

INSIG2 gene rs7566605 polymorphism is associated with severe obesity in Japanese

The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs7566605 in the upstream region of the insulin-induced gene 2 (INSIG2) is associated with the obesity phenotype in many Caucasian populations. In Japanese, this association with the obesity phenotype is not clear. To investigate the relationship between rs7566605 and obesity in Japanese, we genotyped rs7566605 from severely obese subjects [n = 908, body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2] and normal-weight control subjects (n = 1495, BMI < 25 kg/m2). A case–control association analysis revealed that rs7566605 was significantly associated with obesity in Japanese. The P value in the minor allele recessive mode was 0.00020, and the odds ratio (OR) adjusted for gender and age was 1.61 [95% confidential interval (CI) = 1.24–2.09]. Obesity-associated phenotypes, which included the level of BMI, plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and blood pressure, were not associated with the rs7566605 genotype. Thus, rs7566605 in the upstream region of the INSIG2 gene was found to be associated with obesity, i.e., severe obesity, in Japanese

Mapmaking Process Reading from Local Distortions in Historical Maps: A Geographically Weighted Bidimensional Regression Analysis of a Japanese Castle Map

Shoho Castle Maps are maps of castle towns throughout Japan drawn by Kano School painters on the order of the shogun in 1644. The Shoho Castle Map of Takada, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture was used to visualize local distortions in historical maps and to scrutinize the mapmaking process. A novel method, geographically weighted bidimensional regression, was developed and applied to visualize the local distortions of the map. Exaggerated expressions by mapmakers that have not been identified in previous studies were revealed. That is, in addition to the castle being drawn enlarged, the town where the merchants and artisans lived was drawn larger than the castle. Therefore, the Takada Shoho Castle Map reflects mapmakers’ intentions, besides enlarging military facilities, which appear to have emphasized the pictorial composition of the map by placing the main gate to the castle at the center and drawing the map area evenly from the center in a well-balanced layout

Population recovery in inner tokyo in the late 1990s : a statistical analysis in minato ward

Existing researches for population recovery in inner city of Tokyo hardly pay attention to the role of public housing. It was widely accepted that the provision of private condominiums were the only factor to cause population recovery. However, derivation from \u27Modifiable Areal Unit Problem\u27 is useful to consider the role of public housing that might contributes to population recovery. Multiple regression analysis performed on fine resolution unit revealed that rather than private condominiums, public housing has strong effect on population recovery at neighborhood unit level

GWBR MATLAB code

MATLAB codes of geographically weighted bidimensional regression (GWBR).</p

Heredity in Multiple System Atrophy

We investigated the family histories of 157 Japanese patients with probable or possible multiple system atrophy (MSA). A family history of neurodegenerative disorders was only detected in three MSA patients (1.9%). We evaluated these patients by careful neurological examination, neuroimaging studies, and genetic studies to exclude hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia with a similar clinical phenotype to MSA. The results indicated that one of them had a family history of MSA. Although the familial presence of neurodegenerative disorders is rare in MSA patients, the existence of such cases suggests that MSA may have a genetic background