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Background: Although the importance of oral and systemic healthcare for elderly people is increasing owing to the rapid ageing of the population in South Korea, studies on the relationship between oral health, systemic health, and cognitive function, as well as on the prediction of cognitive function by oral and systemic health depending upon age groups are lacking. Methods: We included 5,975 out of 6,488 participants from the 8th wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) panel data, divided the participants into three age groups, and performed a hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis to explain cognitive function with four types of predictors: oral health status, sociodemographic factors, objective health status, and subjective health status. Results: Oral health status was positively correlated with systemic health status and cognitive function. Of all ages over 54, cognitive function was significantly predicted by oral health variables, such as the number of functional teeth, masticatory ability, and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI); sociodemographic variables, such as age, sex, education level, and residence; and systemic health variables, such as diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, cancer or malignant tumours, cerebrovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis, depressive symptom, and self-rated health status. Oral health variables explained cognitive function differently by age group; GOHAI appeared important predictor in the group aged < 75 years, whereas the number of functional teeth did in the group aged ≥ 75 years. Educational level, masticatory ability, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health status were pivotal factors age-independently. Conclusions: The general and age-group-specific association between oral health, systemic health, and cognitive function were confirmed, suggesting that age-group-specific oral healthcare should be emphasized for the effective management of systemic and cognitive health in the elderly group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Executive dysfunction is common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The pulvinar nucleus plays a role in executive control and synchronizes with cortical regions in the salience network that are vulnerable to Lewy pathology. Objective: We investigated the pulvinar subregions in patients with mild DLB and their associations with executive function. Methods: The sample consisted of 38 DLB patients and 38 age- and sex-matched normal controls. We evaluated cognitive function using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet. We obtained four pulvinar nuclei using preprocessed T1-weighted magnetic resonance images. We compared volumes and textures of the DLB patients and the normal controls for each nucleus. We used a linear regression to determine the association of textures and neuropsychological test scores. Results: The DLB patients showed comparable volumes to the normal controls in all pulvinar nuclei. However, the DLB patients showed different texture of the left medial pulvinar (PuM) from the normal controls. The entropy, contrast, and cluster shade were lower but autocorrelation of left PuM was higher in the DLB patients compared to the normal controls. These texture features of the left PuM were associated with the set-shifting performance measured by the Trail Making Test. Conclusions: In DLB, the left PuM may be altered from early stage, which may contribute to the development of executive dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) are organic compounds known to cause earthy and musty odors in drinking water. In Korea, during the summer of 2012, a geosmin outbreak in the drinking water supply prompted further research to identify the source of the odorous materials, since these occurrences were not well understood or monitored. The purpose of this study was to investigate how important a role actinomycetes play in the production of geosmin and 2-MIB in Paldang Lake by measurement of microbial density (the number of colony-forming units), pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and determination of the prevalence of the geosmin synthase gene. Three sampling sites (P1, P2, and P3) were selected. The increase in geosmin concentration was paralleled by an increase in actinomycetes (Streptomycesspp.) and cyanobacteria (Anabaenaspp.) populations. The bacterial communities in Paldang Lake were characterized by 454 pyrosequencing based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. P1 (North Han River) showed the highest density of actinomycetes, followed by P2 (Paldang Dam), and P3 (South Han River). The density ofStreptomycesspp. increased at P1, while that of cyanobacteria increased at P3. No significant density change was noted in those two species at P2, a confluence of two rivers. The genes producing geosmin or 2-MIB were detected in 60 single strains that were isolated from water samples in Paldang Lake. This study confirmed thatStreptomycesspp. significantly affect the production of geosmin that causes odors in Paldang Lake. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]