Objectives Reference values for hand grip strength in Japanese community-dwelling elderly independent in activities of daily living (ADLs) were calculated by metaanalysis. Methods Papers reporting data on hand grip strength in elderly Japanese adults C60 years of age and independent in ADLs were retrieved from electronic databases. Data were extracted from the selected papers and the weighted mean for hand grip strength by sex was calculated by random effect model. The association of hand grip strength with age and body weight was also analyzed using metaregression analysis. Results Data for 15,784 individuals (5216 men and 10,568 women; mean age 67.0-79.8 years) were extracted from 97 sets of data from 33 papers. The weighted mean for hand grip strength was calculated as 33.11 kg in women. A significant negative correlation was also seen between hand grip strength and age.Conclusions The mean hand grip strength of elderly people calculated in this study can be used as a reference value for the hand grip strength of Japanese communitydwelling elderly who are independent in ADLs. However, age needs to be considered in reference values for hand grip strength.

We consider a two dimensional extension of the so-called linearizable mappings. In particular, we start from the Heideman-Hogan recurrence, which is known as one of the linearizable Somoslike recurrences, and introduce one of its two dimensional extensions. The two dimensional lattice equation we present is linearizable in both directions, and has the Laurent and the coprimeness properties. Moreover, its reduction produces a generalized family of the Heideman-Hogan recurrence.Higher order examples of two dimensional linearizable lattice equations related to the Dana-Scott recurrence are also discussed.

The O2 adduct of an aqueous synthetic heme/copper model system built on a porphyrin/cyclodextrin supramolecular complex has been characterized.

We introduce a so-called coprimeness-preserving non-integrable extension to the two-dimensional Toda lattice equation. We believe that this equation is the first example of such discrete equation defined over a threedimensional lattice. We prove that all the iterates of the equation are irreducible Laurent polynomials of the initial data and that every pair of two iterates is co-prime, which indicate confined singularities of the equation. By reducing the equation to two-or one-dimensional lattices, we obtain coprimeness-preserving non-integrable extensions to the one-dimensional Toda lattice equation and the Somos-4 recurrence.

Aim: Appetite control is an important goal for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes mellitus and obesity; however, little is known about how hormones concerning appetite regulation are affected by long-term consumption of a high-fat diet. We investigated the effect of high-fat diet on secretory regulation of ghrelin and leptin in rats.Methods: Rats were fed a control or a high-fat diet for 18 weeks and then killed. Before being killed, a glucose tolerance test was performed. Weight, total calorie intake and blood glucose levels were measured, and the plasma levels of total and active ghrelin, and leptin were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Body and fat weight and total calorie intake were significantly higher in the high-fat diet group than in the control, although blood glucose levels did not differ. Plasma leptin was significantly higher in the high-fat diet group, and a significant positive correlation was observed between bodyweight and leptin levels in both groups. The levels of active and total ghrelin were not significantly changed by high-fat diet, and active ghrelin levels in the control group significantly correlated negatively with bodyweight, while its correlation was lost in the high-fat diet group. The glucose tolerance test showed that ghrelin levels were significantly higher than those of controls even 60 min after glucose loading. Conclusion:These results indicate that secretion of ghrelin, but not leptin, are deranged by consumption of a high-fat diet, and active ghrelin levels lose their correlation with bodyweight and food intake.

Coprimeness property was introduced to study the singularity structure of discrete dynamical systems. In this paper we shall extend the coprimeness property and the Laurent property to further investigate discrete equations with complicated pattern of singularities. As examples we study extensions to the Somos-4 recurrence and the two-dimensional discrete Toda equation. By considering their non-autonomous polynomial forms, we prove that their tau function analogues possess the extended Laurent property with respect to their initial variables and some extra factors related to the non-autonomous terms. Using this Laurent property, we prove that these equations satisfy the extended coprimeness property. This coprimeness property reflects the singularities that trivially arise from the equations.

We introduce a family of extensions of the Hietarinta-Viallet equation to a multi-term recurrence relation via a reduction from the coprimeness-preserving extension to the discrete KdV equation. The recurrence satisfies the irreducibility and the coprimeness property although it is nonintegrable in terms of an exponential degree growth. We derive the algebraic entropy of the recurrence by an elementary method of calculating the degree growth. The result includes the entropy of the original Hietarinta-Viallet equation.

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