[Relationship between quality of life and chronic illnesses in community-dwelling elderly people].

Aim: Chronic illnesses are common among elderly people, and may considerably affect to their quality of life (QOL). We investigated the impact of chronic conditions on QOL among community-dwelling elderly people, and the stability of QOL over time.

Methods: A total of 2,762 community-dwelling elderly persons (men: 47.

[Social activity and relevant factors in the elderly: focus on members of senior manpower center and senior citizen's club].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate and classify major social activities in community elderly. We also clarified reliability, dependence on the age bracket, changes in activity frequency over the past year, and relation between social activities and QOL using a questionnaire.

Methods: The subjects were 1,344 individuals aged 60 years or more, living in A area of metropolitan Tokyo.

[Cognitive function screening of community-dwelling elderly by Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status in Japanese (TICS-J)].

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status in Japanese (TICS-J) is accepted among community-dwelling elderly, to examine the correlations among gender, age or the duration of education and the TICS-J, as well as to grasp the subjects with probable cognitive impairment.

Methods: A total of 12,059 community-dwelling elderly were invited to join the cognitive screening by the TICS-J, among which 3,482 responded, of these we were actually able to measure 2,620 and found out the educational back ground of the 2,431. They counted 1,186 men (age 72.

[Bone mass and lifestyle-effect of exercise and nutrition].

This article discussed the effect of exercise and/or nutrition on bone mineral density (BMD), and the quality and quantity of exercise and nutrition for the primary prevention of osteoporosis. The evidence suggested that exercise and nutritional supplements are effective for increasing BMD among children or to inhibit the loss of BMD after menopause. However, the evidence to discuss the effective kind and amount of exercise is limited.

A new G-stretch-DNA-binding protein, Unichrom, displays cell-cycle-dependent expression in sea urchin embryos.

We report the identification and characterization of Unichrom, a gene encoding a new G-stretch-DNA-binding protein in the sea urchin embryo. The derived amino acid sequence of Unichrom contains plant homeodomain (PHD) finger and high mobility group (HMG) motifs as well as motifs required for cell-cycle-dependent degradation. The expression of a Unichrom-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein in sea urchin embryonic cells indicates that Unichrom protein accumulates in nuclei during interphase and disperses into the cytoplasm at mitosis.

Utilization of a particle gun DNA introduction system for the analysis of cis-regulatory elements controlling the spatial expression pattern of the arylsulfatase gene (HpArs) in sea urchin embryos.

We applied a particle gun method to introduce DNA into fertilized sea urchin eggs for the analysis of cis-regulatory elements responsible for spatial gene expression during development. We introduced HpArs (sea urchin arylsulfatase gene) -GFP and HpArs-LacZfusion constructs into the fertilized eggs and obtained high expression levels of the fusion genes. Using this assay system, we demonstrated that a fragment of HpArs (-3,484 to +4,636) is sufficient for aboral ectoderm-specific expression, and that the region in the first intron from +406 to +1,993 contains the control elements responsible for the repression of the HpArs promoter activity in secondary mesenchyme cells.

T-brain homologue (HpTb) is involved in the archenteron induction signals of micromere descendant cells in the sea urchin embryo.

Signals from micromere descendants play a crucial role in sea urchin development. In this study, we demonstrate that these micromere descendants express HpTb, a T-brain homolog of Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. HpTb is expressed transiently from the hatched blastula stage through the mesenchyme blastula stage to the gastrula stage.

Corrected Structure of the 5' Flanking Region of Arylsulfatase Gene of the Sea Urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus: (5' flanking sequence/sea urchin/arylsulfatase gene/G-string).

The nucleotide sequence of the 5' flanking region of the arylsulfatase (Ars) gene of the sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, is extensively corrected. The one previously reported from our laboratory (ref. 7, Develop, Growth & Differ.