Assessment of oral hypofunction and its association with age among Korean community-dwelling older adults.

BACKGROUND: Due to the increasing proportion of older adults in Korea and growing interest in aging, the concepts of oral aging and oral hypofunction have recently been introduced. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the age-specific oral function levels of Korean older adults and develop expert intervention methods for healthy aging. METHODS: Dysphagia, independence of daily living, and oral hypofunction were assessed in 206 older adults living in Wonju, Gangwon State, South Korea. Subjective dysphagia was assessed through self-report questionnaires using the Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI), the Korean version of Eating Assessment Tool-10, and the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index. In addition, the oral hypofunction assessment items included decreased chewing ability, occlusal pressure, tongue pressure, oral dryness, and oral cleanliness. RESULTS: DHI increased significantly with age, with those in their 80 s reporting the most difficulty swallowing. Oral function in terms of chewing ability (maximum occlusal pressure and number of remaining teeth), maximum occlusal pressure, and maximum tongue pressure also declined with increasing age. While there was no significant difference in oral dryness by age, those in their 80 s had dry mouth according to the criteria of the oral moisture checking device. CONCLUSIONS: In an assessment of oral function in community-dwelling, independent Korean older adults, the number of items that were assessed as oral hypofunction increased with age. The findings can be used to standardize the oral hypofunction assessment item and develop age-based individualized intervention plans for the early management of oral health and individual oral myofunctional rehabilitation in Korean community-dwelling older adults.

Validation of the Korean Academy of Geriatric Dentistry screening questionnaire and oral frailty diagnostic criteria in community-dwelling older adults.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to establish the validity-specifically, the sensitivity and specificity-of the screening questionnaire and diagnostic criteria for oral frailty proposed by the Korean Academy of Geriatric Dentistry (KAGD) among community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: This study enrolled 100 participants. Among various definitions of oral frailty, this study used the criteria proposed by Tanaka as the reference test. The screening questionnaire consisted of 11 items for screening physical frailty, chewing ability, swallowing difficulties, oral dryness, and tongue and lip motor function. Each question had a different scoring weight, and if the total score was 1 or higher, an oral frailty diagnostic examination proposed by the KAGD would be recommended. The diagnostic test was the oral frailty diagnostic criteria proposed by the KAGD including 6 measures: chewing ability, occlusal force, tongue pressure, oral dryness, swallowing difficulty, and oral hygiene. If a participant exhibited 2 or more positive measures, this participant was classified as "oral frail." The screening questionnaire was analyzed using a cut-off value of 1 or higher, while the diagnostic criteria utilized a cut-off of 2 or more positive measures. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated. RESULTS: The screening questionnaire showed significant power for screening oral frailty (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.783; sensitivity, 87.8%; specificity, 52.5%). The diagnostic accuracy of the newly proposed diagnostic criteria was acceptable (sensitivity, 95.1%; specificity, 42.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The newly proposed screening questionnaire and diagnostic criteria in Korea appear to be a useful tool to identify oral frailty in community-dwelling older adults.

Antioxidant, ACE inhibitory, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities of subcritical water extract of blue mussel.

Subcritical water (SCW) extract of blue mussel was prepared at 100, 200, and 300 °C for 10, 30, and 60 min, respectively, and its effect on the activity of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was evaluated. We found that DPPH radical scavenging, ACE inhibitory, and AChE inhibitory activities significantly increased with increasing extraction temperature and duration. For example, AChE inhibitory activity of the extract at 300 °C for 60 min increased to 63.1 ± 0.3%, while that at 100 °C for 10 min was 5.6 ± 0.3%. The results suggested that SCW extraction is attractive processing methods for obtaining high valued extract from blue mussel.

Effect of Poly-TPD Molecular Weight on the Characteristics of Quantum-Dot Light-Emitting Devices.

We have investigated the effect of poly-TPD molecular weight (Mw) on the characteristics of CdSe/ZnS quantum-dot light-emitting devices (QD-LEDs). The poly-TPDs with Mw = 24000 and 84000 were used for hole-transporting layer. The Mw = 24000 poly-TPD layer was seriously dissolved by toluene which was used for the dispersion of QDs, resulting in substantial thickness reduction during the spin-coating of QD layer. The emission, external quantum efficiency, and driving characteristics of the QD-LEDs were investigated. A maximum external quantum efficiency of 2.1% was obtained in the QD-LED with Mw = 84000 poly-TPD layer.