Low serum albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, and body mass are risk factors for frailty in elderly people with diabetes-a cross-sectional study.

Background: Frailty is broadly characterized by vulnerability and decline in physical, mental and social activities and is more common in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Frailty is closely associated with nutrition, muscle strength, inflammation, and hormones etc. In hormones, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and cortisol are suggested to be such candidates affecting frailty.

A High Serum Cortisol/DHEA-S Ratio Is a Risk Factor for Sarcopenia in Elderly Diabetic Patients.

Context: Elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a high prevalence of frailty and/or sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is thought to be related to discordant secretions of the adrenal hormones cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), as well as the sulfate ester of DHEA (DHEA-S). The current study sought to evaluate the risk factors for sarcopenia in elderly patients with T2DM.

The role of retinoic acid signaling in starfish metamorphosis.

Background: Although retinoic acid (RA) signaling plays a crucial role in the body patterning of chordates, its function in non-chordate invertebrates, other than its mediation of environmental cues triggering metamorphosis in cnidarians, is largely unknown. We investigated the role of RA signaling in the metamorphosis of starfish (Echinodermata).

Results: We found that exogenous RA treatment induced metamorphosis in starfish larvae.

Hidden genetic history of the Japanese sand dollar Peronella (Echinoidea: Laganidae) revealed by nuclear intron sequences.

The marine environment around Japan experienced significant changes during the Cenozoic Era. In this study, we report findings suggesting that this dynamic history left behind traces in the genome of the Japanese sand dollar species Peronella japonica and P. rubra.

Comparative study of the correlation between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis in women in Japan and Mongolia.

Objective: Associations between vascular calcification and osteoporosis are well documented, yet effects of lifestyle on atherosclerosis and osteoporosis remain unclear. This study evaluated the relationship between atherosclerosis and osteoporosis of people with different lifestyles living on Uku Island in Japan (rice consumption and fishing lifestyle) and in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia (meat consumption and nomadic lifestyle), and investigated the differences of lifestyles on atherosclerosis and osteoporosis.

Methods: Participants were women aged over 50 years who had undergone a previous medical examination for atherosclerosis and osteoporosis (Uku Island, 104, Ulaanbaatar, 71).

Phylogeographic Study of Whip Scorpions (Chelicerata: Arachnida: Thelyphonida) in Japan and Taiwan.

Whip scorpions (Thelyphonida), comprising an order in the class Arachnida, are distributed from tropical to temperate zones. Two species occur exclusively in Japan and Taiwan, but the border of their distributional ranges is ambiguous in the Central Ryukyus (Japan). We collected new specimens from the Central Ryukyus and revealed that the border of distribution of the two species lies between the Central and Southern Ryukyus, i.

Phylogeography of Semiterrestrial Isopod, Tylos granuliferus, on East Asian Coasts.

We conducted phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial COI gene sequences of Tylos granuliferus, a semiterrestrial coastal isopod in East Asia, to clarify possible phylogeographic patterns and to assess relationships between present and past marine environments and genetic population structures. Our results strongly suggest the presence of four clades of T. granuliferus, one of which consists of three subclades.

Phylogenetic relationships, genetic divergence, historical biogeography and conservation of an endangered gecko, Goniurosaurus kuroiwae (Squamata: Eublepharidae), from the Central Ryukyus, Japan.

The Kuroiwa's eyelid gecko Goniurosaurus kuroiwae is an endangered species in a state of relict endemism in the Central Ryukyus, Japan, and is divided into five subspecies. We analyzed variations in sequence data for approximately 1900 base positions of mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA, and cytochrome b genes from samples representing all recognized subspecies of G. kuroiwae together with those from congeneric species in order to test the relevant previous phylogenetic hypotheses and discuss biogeographical implications in the degree and pattern of genetic divergence within G.

Taxonomic study of the Burmoniscus ocellatus complex (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea) in Japan shows genetic diversification in the southern Ryukyus, southwestern Japan.

To clarify the taxonomic status of the Burmoniscus ocellatus complex in Japan, we carried out morphological observations and phylogenetic analyses of specimens collected from Yonagunijima, Iriomotejima, Ishigakijima, and Miyakojima Islands of the southern Ryukyus and from Okinawajima Island of the central Ryukyus in southwestern Japan. Observations of the holotypes of Aphiloscia iriomotensis ( Nunomura, 1986 ), Ap. ishigakiensis ( Nunomura, 1986 ), and Ap.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the Anderson's crocodile newt, Echinotriton andersoni (Amphibia: Caudata), as revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences.

The Anderson's crocodile newt, Echinotriton andersoni, is considered a relic and endangered species distributed in the Central Ryukyus. To elucidate phylogenetic relationships and detailed genetic structures among populations, we analyzed variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Results strongly support a primary dichotomy between populations from the Amami and Okinawa Island Groups with substantial genetic divergence, favoring a primary divergence between the two island groups.

Phylogeny of the lizard subfamily Lygosominae (Reptilia: Scincidae), with special reference to the origin of the new world taxa.

Phylogenetic relationships of the three lygosomine skink genera occurring both in the Old World and the New World (Mabuya, Scincella and Sphenomorphus) were inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence of 12S and 16S rRNA genes. Results strongly suggested the non-monophyly for any of these three genera. Within the Mabuya group, Asian members appear to have diverged first, leaving the Neotropical and the Afro-Malagasy Mabuya as sister groups.

Phylogenetic relationships of the Asian box turtles of the genus Cuora sensu lato (Reptilia: Bataguridae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences.

Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Cuora sensu lato (Cuora sensu stricto and Cistoclemmys) and other testudinoid genera were inferred from variations in 882 base positions of mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes. Results yielded a robust support to the monophyly of a group (Cuora group) consisting of Cuora sensu lato and the monotypic Pyxidea. Within the Cuora group, the continental Cuora (sensu stricto) and the two subspecies of Ci.

Molecular evaluation of phylogenetic significances in the highly divergent karyotypes of the genus Gonocephalus (Reptilia: Agamidae) from tropical Asia.

The Oriental large-bodied crested dragons of the genus Gonocephalus are known to include two distinct karyomorphs. To evaluate their phylogenetic significances, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of the genus together with other agamid genera on the basis of 862 base positions of mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes. Results suggested the presence of two distinct lineages within Gonocephalus, of which one, represented by G.