Association of serum vitamin C concentrations with Alzheimer's disease mortality among U.S. adults.

Background: The association between vitamin C status and Alzheimer's disease (AD) mortality remains unclear.

Methods: A total of 4864 adults aged 60 years or above from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III 1988-1994 were included in this study. Serum vitamin C levels were measured by the fully automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay.

A biocompatible polydopamine platform for targeted delivery of nicotinamide mononucleotide and boosting NAD+ levels in the brain.

Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), a precursor of the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), has gained wide attention as an anti-aging agent, which plays a significant role in intracellular redox reactions. However, its effectiveness is limited by easy metabolism in the liver and subsequent excretion as nicotinamide, resulting in low bioavailability, particularly in the brain. Additionally, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) further hinders NMN supply to the brain, compromising its potential anti-aging effects.

Decoding 11-oxygenated androgen synthesis: insights from enzyme gene expression and LC-MS/MS quantification.

Background: Adrenal-origin and peripheral tissue-transformed 11-oxygenated androgens are recognized as significant androgens. However, our current understanding of the synthesis of 11-oxygenated androgens, including the organs and cell types involved, remains limited.

Methods: We performed comprehensive analyses on an extensive dataset of normal human tissues, which included bulk RNA data from 30 tissues, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA) data from 16 tissues and proteomics data from 29 tissues, to characterize the expression profiles of enzyme-encoding genes.

Green space modified the association between air pollutants and hypertension in China.

Evidence regarding the combined effects of green space and air pollutants on hypertension remains limited and complex. This study aims to investigate the varying effects of greenness under different air pollution levels in China, using data from the wave 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) involving 17 468 adults (aged ≥ 45 years). As a result, the prevalence rate of hypertension was 42.

Effects of ambient air pollution on cause-specific hospitalizations in Wuhan during 2017-2019.

Background: Few studies have focused on the associations between air pollutants and multiple organ system diseases in the entire hospitalized population. The present study aims to explore the short-term effects of six routinely monitored air pollutants on the broad causes of hospital admissions and estimate the resulting hospital admission burdens.

Methods: Daily hospital admission records from 2017 to 2019 were obtained from the Wuhan Information center of Health and Family Planning.

PM-Associated Hospitalization Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases in Wuhan: Cases Alleviated by Residential Greenness.

PM, a type of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm, is associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), while greenness seems to be associated with better cardiovascular health. We identified 499,336 CVD cases in Wuhan's 74 municipal hospitals between 2017 and 2019.

Association between smoking and hypertension under different PM and green space exposure: A nationwide cross-sectional study.

Background: Smoking has been widely reported to have a significant relationship with hypertension, but the past description of this relationship has not been uniform. In addition, there has been a lack of research to discuss the impact of environmental exposure on the relationship between smoking and hypertension. Therefore, this study estimates the association between smoking and hypertension in middle aged and elderly people in China under different PM (fine particulate matter) concentrations and the green space exposure conditions.

Association of NO with daily hospital admissions for mental disorders: Investigation of the modification effects of green spaces and long-term NO exposure.

Air pollution is a risk factor for increased hospital admissions due to mental disorders, while green spaces have been linked with better mental health. We linked daily hospital admission records from Wuhan's 74 municipal hospitals from 2017 to 2019 with modeled annual average NO concentrations and added data on the residential surrounding green spaces with 250 m and 500 m buffers based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using a land use regression model (LUR). The conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate the acute effect of short-term NO exposure, and stratification analyses were applied to explore the modification effect of long-term NO exposure and green spaces by estimating the odds ratios in the single- and dual-environmental factor groups.

Effects of green spaces on alleviating mortality attributable to PM in China.

Increasing research suggested that green spaces are associated with many health benefits, but evidence for the quantitative relationship between green spaces and mortality attributable to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM) is limited. We collected disease-specific mortality and PM data for a period of 4 years (2015-2018) along with green space data for an 8-year duration (2010-2017) in 31 provincial-level administrative regions of China.

Association Between Grip Strength and Cognitive Function in US Older Adults of NHANES 2011-2014.

Background: The relationship between grip strength and cognitive function remains no consensus in the older adults.

Objective: To investigate the association of grip strength with cognitive function and cognitive performance in different domains.

Methods: Participants of the present cross-sectional study were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014.

Roc, the G-domain of the Parkinson's disease-associated protein LRRK2.

Mutation in leucine-rich repeat (LRR) kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a common cause of Parkinson's disease (PD). Aberrant LRRK2 kinase activity is associated with disease pathogenesis and thus it is an attractive drug target for combating PD. Intense efforts in the past nearly two decades have focused on the development of small-molecule inhibitors of the kinase domain of LRRK2 and have identified potent kinase inhibitors.

Short-term effects of air pollution on respiratory diseases among young children in Wuhan city, China.

Background: The high risks for childhood respiratory diseases are associated with exposure to ambient air pollution. However, there are few studies that have explored the association between air pollution exposure and respiratory diseases among young children (particularly aged 0-2 years) based on the entire population in a megalopolis.

Methods: Daily hospital admission records were obtained from 54 municipal hospitals in Wuhan city, China.

Trends in Mortality From Parkinson Disease in the United States, 1999-2019.

Background And Objectives: The mortality from Parkinson disease (PD) and its long-term trends in the United States in recent decades remains unknown. This study aimed to describe the trends in PD mortality in the United States from 1999 to 2019.

Methods: We used data from the National Vital Statistics System, a nationwide, population-based death registry, to determine national trends in PD mortality, overall and by age, sex, race/ethnicity, urban-rural classification, and geographic location.

The Association between Preterm Birth and Ambient Air Pollution Exposure in Shiyan, China, 2015-2017.

Shortening of the gestational duration has been found associated with ambient air pollution exposure. However, the critical exposure windows of ambient air pollution for gestational duration remain inconsistent, and the association between ambient air pollution and early term births (ETB, 37 to 38 weeks) has rarely been studied relative to preterm births (PTB, 28-37 weeks). A time-series study was conducted in Shiyan, a medium-sized city in China.

Effect of ambient fine particulates (PM) on hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in Wuhan, China.

Background: Positive associations between ambient PM and cardiorespiratory disease have been well demonstrated during the past decade. However, few studies have examined the adverse effects of PM based on an entire population of a megalopolis. In addition, most studies in China have used averaged data, which results in variations between monitoring and personal exposure values, creating an inherent and unavoidable type of measurement error.

Characteristics of Sleep Structure Assessed by Objective Measurements in Patients With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Meta-Analysis.

This study aims to explore the differences of sleep structure between patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and elderly people with normal cognition, which will help to provide evidence for the relationship between sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on the literature on sleep parameters obtained by polysomnography or actigraphy in patients with aMCI. The PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched up to April 2020.

The association between ambient temperature and sperm quality in Wuhan, China.

Background: Few epidemiological investigations have focused on the influence of environmental temperature on human sperm quality. Here, we evaluated the potential association between ambient temperature and human sperm quality in Wuhan, China, and examined the interactive effect of particulate matter (PM) and temperature.

Methods: 1780 males who had been living in Wuhan for no less than three months and received semen analysis at the Department of Reproductive Medicine in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University between April 8, 2013 and June 30, 2015 were recruited.

Association between ambient air pollution exposure and infants small for gestational age in Huangshi, China: a cross-sectional study.

Small for gestational age (SGA) is defined as intrauterine growth retardation or small sample, referring to the 10th percentile of birth weight lower or two standard deviations less than the average weight at the same gestational age. SGA infants bring great economic and psychological burdens to families and society. The association between exposure to air pollution and SGA in underdeveloped cities with poor air quality remains unclear.

Short-Term Effects of Carbonaceous Components in PM on Pulmonary Function: A Panel Study of 37 Chinese Healthy Adults.

Objectives: To explore the health effects of indoor/outdoor carbonaceous compositions in PM on pulmonary function among healthy students living in the local university campus.

Methods: Daily peak expiratory flow (PEF) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV) were measured among 37 healthy students in the morning and evening for four two-week periods. Concurrent concentrations of indoor and outdoor PM (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.

Parkinson's disease-associated mutations in the GTPase domain of LRRK2 impair its nucleotide-dependent conformational dynamics.

Mutation in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a common cause of familial Parkinson's disease (PD). Recently, we showed that a disease-associated mutation R1441H rendered the GTPase domain of LRRK2 catalytically less active and thereby trapping it in a more persistently "on" conformation. However, the mechanism involved and characteristics of this on conformation remained unknown.

The Parkinson's disease-associated mutation N1437H impairs conformational dynamics in the G domain of LRRK2.

Parkinson disease-associated mutations within the GTPase domain Ras of complex proteins (ROC) of leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) result in an abnormal over-activation of its kinase domain. However, the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Recent study has shown that LRRK2 G-domain cycles between monomeric and dimeric conformations upon binding to GTP or guanosine diphosphate, and that the Parkinson's disease (PD)-associated R1441C/G/H mutations impair the G-domain monomer-dimer dynamics and trap the G-domain in a constitutive monomeric conformation.

Roco Proteins and the Parkinson's Disease-Associated LRRK2.

Small G-proteins are structurally-conserved modules that function as molecular on-off switches. They function in many different cellular processes with differential specificity determined by the unique effector-binding surfaces, which undergo conformational changes during the switching action. These switches are typically standalone monomeric modules that form transient heterodimers with specific effector proteins in the 'on' state, and cycle to back to the monomeric conformation in the 'off' state.

Parkinson disease-associated mutation R1441H in LRRK2 prolongs the "active state" of its GTPase domain.

Mutation in leucine-rich-repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a common cause of Parkinson disease (PD). A disease-causing point mutation R1441H/G/C in the GTPase domain of LRRK2 leads to overactivation of its kinase domain. However, the mechanism by which this mutation alters the normal function of its GTPase domain [Ras of complex proteins (Roc)] remains unclear.