This study aims to depict and compare clinical characteristics and risk behavior among groups of individuals using ketamine, polydrugs or smoking cigarette. A total of 185 drug-using participants and 49 smokers participated in this study. A cross-sectional interview was used to collect information on demographics, drug- and sex-related behaviors, HIV serostatus, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), behavioral dispositions. N-back memory test was used to measure short-term memory. Result shows that 10 participants (5.41%) were HIV positive and 14 (7.57%) having LUTS. Individuals with ketamine and polydrugs use have significantly worse drug-related problem than cigarette smokers. Compared to cigarette smokers and ketamine users, individuals with polydrug users scored significantly higher on impulsivity measures. Cigarette smokers performed significantly better than the other two groups on the memory tests. A few patients had been infected with HIV and diagnosed with LUTS. Findings support that memory on short term recalls of patients with ketamine use might be impaired. Study findings warrants the necessarily of further study on influences of using ketamine.
Objectives Diet is an important lifestyle factor that may prevent or slow the onset and progression of neurodegeneration. Recent studies suggest that adherence to a healthy dietary pattern is associated with reduced risk of cognitive decline. Few studies have examined the relationships between dietary patterns and risk of clinical neurodegenerative disease outcomes. In this meta-analysis, we examined the associations between overall dietary patterns, assessed a priori and a posteriori, and risk of major neurodegenerative disease including dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. Methods We systematically searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health databases starting from 1981 to October 10, 2018. Observational cohort studies published in English with prospective and case-control designs were included. Diet assessment approaches (a priori or a posteriori) were utilized to assist in determining whether the exposure was dietary pattern score or diet quality. Generic inverse variance method was used to calculate the pooled risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) among the highest versus the lowest diet quality/dietary pattern score groups in random effect models. Results Seventeen studies with 173,283 participants were identified. Various diet quality indexes or dietary pattern scores, such as the Healthy Eating Index, the Mediterranean diet score, and dietary pattern scores generated by principal component analysis or reduced rank regression, were used among studies. Our meta-analysis of cohorts showed significant associations between adherence to high diet quality or healthy dietary pattern and lower risk of dementia (pooled risk ratio = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.56-0.86) and Parkinson's disease (pooled risk ratio = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.54-0.97) relative to those with low diet quality or unhealthy dietary pattern. Conclusions Adherence to high diet quality or healthy dietary pattern may provide protective effects on risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Additional observational studies and randomized controlled trials are needed to address our study limitations and provide further evidence about the role of a poor diet on the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases as well as the benefits of a healthy diet on the prevention of major neurodegenerative diseases. Funding Sources United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service agreement. Supporting Tables, Images and/or Graphs
C-terminal truncation mutagenesis was used to explore the functional and structural significance of the C-terminal region of Aeromonas caviae D1 chitinase (AcD1ChiA). Comparative studies between the engineered full-length AcD1ChiA and the truncated mutant (AcD1ChiAK606) included initial rate kinetics, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectrometric properties, and substrate binding and hydrolysis abilities. The overall catalytic efficiency, k(cat)/K(M), of AcD1ChiAK606 with the 4MU-(GlcNAc)(2) and the 4MU-(GlcNAc)(3) chitin substrates was 15-26% decreased. When compared with AcD1ChiA, the truncated mutant AcD1ChiAK606 maintained 80% relative substrate-binding ability and about 76% of the hydrolyzing efficiency against the insoluble alpha-chitin substrate. Both fluorescence and CD spectroscopy indicated that AcD1ChiAK606 retained the same conformation as AcD1ChiA. These results indicated that removal of the C-terminal 259 amino acid residues, including the putative chitin-binding motif and the A region (a motif of unknown function) of AcD1ChiA, did not seriously affect the enzyme structure integrity as well as activity. The present study provided evidences illustrating that the binding and hydrolyzing of insoluble chitin substrates by AcD1ChiA were not absolutely dependent on the putative C-terminal chitin-binding domain and the function-unknown A region.
BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that olfactory receptors, which mediate smell chemosensation, are also located in the kidney and involved in regulating blood pressure. Mammalian epithelial sodium channel located in taste receptor cells has also been found to participate in blood pressure regulation. However, there is currently no human study that has examined the association between taste and smell functions and hypertension development.ObjectiveWe prospectively examined the association between taste and smell functions and the risk of hypertension in a community‐based cohort. We hypothesized that participants with taste and smell dysfunctions had higher risk of developing hypertension.MethodsThe study included 6,482 Chinese adults (5,114 men and 1,368 women) who were free of hypertension in 2012 (baseline). Chronic taste and smell dysfunction data were collected in 2012 by using questionnaire containing self‐reported problems with the sense of taste and smell from National Health Interview Survey. Newly developed hypertension was evaluated in 2014. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of hypertension, across three categories of dysfunction, based on the number of taste and smell dysfunctions (ranged from 0 to 2), were calculated by using logistic regression, after adjusting for potential confounders, including age, sex, education level, income status, work environment, physical activity level, salt intake, smoking status, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, diabetes, dyslipidemia, C‐reactive protein (CRP), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and blood pressure in 2012.ResultsWe documented 1,338 incident hypertension cases within two‐year period. After adjusting for potential confounders, individuals with both taste and smell dysfunctions had increased risk of developing hypertension (adjusted OR=2.25; 95% CI: 1.08–4.69) and faster increase in systolic blood pressure (p<0.05) relative to those without taste and smell dysfunction.ConclusionWe found that participants with self‐reported taste and smell dysfunctions had higher risk of developing hypertension independent of known risk factors, suggesting an association between chemosensory functions and blood pressure regulation.
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