Dietary pattern classifications with nutrient intake and health-risk factors in Korean men

Objective

This study was performed to identify dietary patterns in Korean men and to determine the associations among dietary patterns, nutrient intake, and health-risk factors.

Methods

Using baseline data from the Korean Health and Genome Study, dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis of data from a validated food-frequency questionnaire, and associations between these dietary patterns and health-risk factors were analyzed.

Results

Three dietary patterns were identified: 1) the “animal-food” pattern (greater intake of meats, fish, and dairy products), 2) the “rice-vegetable” pattern (greater intake of rice, tofu, kimchi, soybean paste, vegetables, and seaweed), and 3) the “noodle-bread” pattern (greater intake of instant noodles, Chinese noodles, and bread). The animal-food pattern (preferred by younger people with higher income and education levels) had a positive correlation with obesity and hypercholesterolemia, whereas the rice-vegetable pattern (preferred by older people with lower income and educational levels) was positively associated with hypertension. The noodle-bread pattern (also preferred by younger people with higher income and education levels) had a positive association with abdominal obesity and hypercholesterolemia.

Conclusion

This study identifies three unique dietary patterns in Korean men, which are independently associated with certain health-risk factors. The rice-vegetable dietary pattern, modified for a low sodium intake, might be a healthy dietary pattern for Korean men.     

Virtual Screening Approach to Identifying a Novel and Tractable Series of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Elastase Inhibitors

Novel therapies are required to treat chronic bacterial infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) sufferers. The most common pathogen responsible for these infections is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which persists within the lungs of CF sufferers despite intensive antibiotic treatment. P. aeruginosa elastase (also known as LasB or pseudolysin) is a key virulence determinant that contributes to the pathogenesis and persistence of P. aeruginosa infections in CF patients. The crucial role of LasB in pseudomonal virulence makes it a good target for the development of an adjuvant drug for CF treatment. Herein we discuss the discovery of a new series of LasB inhibitors by virtual screening and computer assisted drug design (CADD) and their optimization leading to compounds 29 and 39 (K_i = 0.16 μM and 0.12 μM, respectively).