Three epochs on estimating the parameter values of thermodynamic Sharpe-Schoolfield-Ikemoto (SSI) model describing the relation of temperature and insect development rate.

The SSI model describes the relationship between temperature and development rate of insect based on the laws of thermodynamics. The greatest feature of the SSI model curve is that it defines the "Intrinsic optimum temperature for the development of ectotherms". However, this model has 8 parameters, it was extremely difficult to estimate the values of these parameters from experimental data.

, , and are associated with hematogenous, lymph node, and peritoneal recurrence in stage II/III gastric cancer patients enrolled in the ACTS-GC study.

Background: To identify factors related to relapse sites, we carried out an exploratory biomarker analysis of data from the Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of TS-1 for Gastric Cancer study, which is a randomized, controlled trial comparing postoperative adjuvant S-1 therapy with surgery alone in 1,059 patients with stage II/III gastric cancer.

Patients And Methods: Surgical specimens from 829 patients were retrospectively examined, and 63 genes involved in a variety of biological processes were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. Gene expression normalized to reference genes was categorized as lower or higher than the median, and association with relapse sites was analyzed based on 5-year relapse-free survival.

Association between Overall Lifestyle Changes and the Incidence of Proteinuria: A Population-based, Cohort Study.

Objective This study aimed to examine the association between the changes in an overall healthy lifestyle, as quantified by the number of unhealthy lifestyle factors and obesity status, and the incidence of proteinuria in the general Japanese population. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 99,404 (men, 36.9%) participants aged from 40-74 years of age who underwent two health check-ups with a 1-year interval in Japan between 2008 and 2009.

Decreased serum bone specific alkaline phosphatase and increased urinary N-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen as prognostic markers for bone mineral density loss in HIV patients on cART.

Objectives: Bone mineral density (BMD) loss is a major chronic complication in HIV patients. We performed a prospective study to determine the time course of BMD changes and to find prognostic factors of BMD loss in HIV patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART).

Patients And Methods: Subjects were 54 male Japanese HIV patients who had been on cART ≥1 year with no therapeutic agents for osteoporosis.

Impact of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor and amphiregulin expression on survival in patients with stage II/III gastric cancer enrolled in the Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of S-1 for Gastric Cancer.

Background: Exploratory biomarker analysis was conducted to identify factors related to the outcomes of patients with stage II/III gastric cancer using data from the Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of S-1 for Gastric Cancer, which was a randomized controlled study comparing the administration of an orally active combination of tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil with surgery alone.

Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded surgical specimens from 829 patients were retrospectively examined, and 63 genes were analyzed by quantitative real-time RT-PCR after TaqMan assay-based pre-amplification. Gene expression was normalized to the geometric mean of GAPDH, ACTB, and RPLP0 as reference genes, and categorized into low and high values based on the median.

Impact of the Triglycerides to High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio on the Incidence and Progression of CKD: A Longitudinal Study in a Large Japanese Population.

Background: The impact of the triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG:HDL-C) ratio on chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unclear.

Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Setting & Participants: 124,700 participants aged 39 to 74 years in the Japanese Specific Health Check and Guidance System, including 50,392 men, 74,308 women, 102,900 without CKD, and 21,800 with CKD.

Long-Term Blood Pressure Variability, New-Onset Diabetes Mellitus, and New-Onset Chronic Kidney Disease in the Japanese General Population.

Whether long-term blood pressure (BP) variability among individuals without diabetes mellitus is associated with new-onset chronic kidney disease (CKD) risk, independently of other BP parameters (eg, mean BP, cumulative exposure to BP) and metabolic profile changes during follow-up, remains uncertain. We used data from a nationwide study of 48 587 Japanese adults aged 40 to 74 years (mean age, 61.7 years; 39% men) without diabetes mellitus or CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min per 1.

Association between hypouricemia and reduced kidney function: a cross-sectional population-based study in Japan.

Background: Hypouricemia, conventionally defined as a serum uric acid level of ≤2 mg/dl, is considered a biochemical disorder with no clinical significance. However, individuals with renal hypouricemia have a high risk of urolithiasis and exercise-induced acute kidney injury, both of which are risk factors for reduced kidney function.

Methods: To test the hypothesis that individuals with hypouricemia would be at a higher risk of reduced kidney function, we conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using data from the Specific Health Checkups and Guidance System in Japan.

Significance of estimated glomerular filtration rate in predicting brain or heart attacks in obese and non-obese populations.

Background: The Japanese Specific Health Checkup mainly focuses on metabolic syndrome for preventing cardiovascular events. Subjects are stratified by measuring waist circumference, body mass index, blood pressure, triglycerides, and fasting plasma glucose. However, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is not considered essential.

Association between combined lifestyle factors and non-restorative sleep in Japan: a cross-sectional study based on a Japanese health database.

Background: Although lifestyle factors such as cigarette smoking, excessive drinking, obesity, low or no exercise, and unhealthy dietary habits have each been associated with inadequate sleep, little is known about their combined effect. The aim of this study was to quantify the overall impact of lifestyle-related factors on non-restorative sleep in the general Japanese population.

Methods And Findings: A cross-sectional study of 243,767 participants (men, 39.

New-onset hypertension and risk for chronic kidney disease in the Japanese general population.

Objectives: Our aims were to assess the progression rate of normotension and prehypertension to hypertension in Japan, and the effect of the new-onset hypertension on chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: This was a nationwide study of 45 378 Japanese aged 40-74 years (mean age 60 years, 37% men) without hypertension or cardiovascular disease at baseline. At baseline and 3-year follow-up, blood pressure (BP) and kidney function were assessed.

Impact of the expression of thymidylate synthase and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase genes on survival in stage II/III gastric cancer.

Background: The efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5FU)-based therapy, which remains the cornerstone of gastrointestinal cancer treatment, depends upon the expression of enzymes involved in pyrimidine metabolism, including thymidylate synthase (TS), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), thymidine phosphorylase (TP), and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (OPRT). We analyzed the expression of these genes in patients enrolled in the Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of S-1 for Gastric Cancer (ACTS-GC) and their possible roles as biomarkers for treatment outcomes.

Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens were available for 829 of a total of 1,059 (78.

Comparison of predictive value for first cardiovascular event between Japanese GFR equation and coefficient-modified CKD-EPI equation.

Background: The most superior GFR-estimating equation from the viewpoint of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prediction remains unclear. Thus, we performed cross-sectional comparison between two GFR-estimating equations (Japanese GFR equation and coefficient-modified CKD-EPI equation) and CVD incidence using Japanese nationwide "specific health checkup" data.

Methods: We recruited Japanese residents (241,159 individuals; mean 63 years; male, 38.

Association of the triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio with the risk of chronic kidney disease: analysis in a large Japanese population.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Methods: We used data from 216,007 Japanese adults who participated in a nationwide health checkup program. Men (n = 88,516) and women (n = 127,491) were grouped into quartiles based on their TG/HDL-C levels (<1.

An association between serum γ-glutamyltransferase and proteinuria in drinkers and non-drinkers: a Japanese nationwide cross-sectional survey.

Background: The association between alcohol consumption and chronic kidney disease (CKD), characterized by reduced glomerular filtration rate and proteinuria, is controversial. Recent studies suggest that serum γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) level, a conventional marker of excessive alcohol consumption, predicts the CKD incidence. Little information is available on the difference in the clinical impact of alcohol consumption and GGT on proteinuria.

Confidence interval of intrinsic optimum temperature estimated using thermodynamic SSI model.

The intrinsic optimum temperature for the development of ectotherms is one of the most important factors not only for their physiological processes but also for ecological and evolutional processes. The Sharpe-Schoolfield-Ikemoto (SSI) model succeeded in defining the temperature that can thermodynamically meet the condition that at a particular temperature the probability of an active enzyme reaching its maximum activity is realized. Previously, an algorithm was developed by Ikemoto (Tropical malaria does not mean hot environments.

Prediction-based threshold for medication alert.

This study presents a prediction-based approach to determine thresholds for a medication alert in a computerized physician order entry. Traditional static thresholds can sometimes lead to physician's alert fatigue or overlook potentially excessive medication even if the doses are belowthe configured threshold. To address this problem, we applied a random forest algorithm to develop a prediction model for medication doses, and applied a boxplot to determine the thresholds based on the prediction results.

A microarray-based gene expression analysis to identify diagnostic biomarkers for unknown primary cancer.

Background: The biological basis for cancer of unknown primary (CUP) at the molecular level remains largely unknown, with no evidence of whether a common biological entity exists. Here, we assessed the possibility of identifying a common diagnostic biomarker for CUP using a microarray gene expression analysis.

Methods: Tumor mRNA samples from 60 patients with CUP were analyzed using the Affymetrix U133A Plus 2.

U-shaped association between body mass index and proteinuria in a large Japanese general population sample.

Background: There is little data on the association between body mass index (BMI) and proteinuria.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional cohort study assessing the association between BMI and proteinuria in a large Japanese population. Using a nationwide health check-up database of 212,251 Japanese aged >20 years with no pre-existing cardiovascular diseases (185,183 men, median age 66 years; 127,068 women, median age 65 years), we examined the association between BMI and proteinuria (≥ 1+ on dipstick).

Effect of glomerular filtration rate and proteinuria on medical cost among screened subjects.

Background: Chronic kidney disease is a predictor of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, the medical expenses are higher with the decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). However, few studies have examined the medical expenses according to the baseline GFR.

Impact of expression of human epidermal growth factor receptors EGFR and ERBB2 on survival in stage II/III gastric cancer.

Purpose: EGF receptor (EGFR) and HER2 positivity are considered to be negative prognostic factors in gastric cancer. Biomarker analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of EGFR and HER2 expression on the outcome of patients enrolled in the Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of TS-1 for Gastric Cancer (ACTS-GC), a randomized controlled trial comparing postoperative adjuvant S-1 therapy with surgery alone in 1,059 patients with stage II/III gastric cancer.

Experimental Design: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded surgical specimens were retrospectively examined in 829 patients (78.