The objective of this review is to propose an appropriate course of action for improving the guidelines followed by food handlers for control of infection. For this purpose, previous epidemiological reports related to acute gastroenteritis in food service businesses mediated by food handlers were intensively analyzed.
Relevant studies were identified in international databases. We selected eligible papers reporting foodborne infectious disease outbreaks. Among primary literature collection, the abstract of each article was investigated to find cases that absolutely identified a causative factor to be food handlers’ inappropriate infection control and the taxon of causative microbial agents by epidemiological methodologies. Information about the sites (type of food business) where the outbreaks occurred was investigated.
A wide variety of causative microbial agents has been investigated, using several epidemiological methods. These agents have shown diverse propagation pathways based on their own molecular pathogenesis, physiology, taxonomy, and etiology.
Depending on etiology, transmission, propagation, and microbiological traits, we can predict the transmission characteristics of pathogens in food preparation areas. The infected food workers have a somewhat different ecological place in infection epidemiology as compared to the general population. However, the current Korean Food Safety Act cannot propose detailed guidelines. Therefore, different methodologies have to be made available to prevent further infections.
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This study aimed to investigate factors affecting sarcopenia in different age groups among Korean adults aged 20 years or older.
In this secondary analysis, data were collected from records for 17,968, participants who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during 2008–2011. Data were analyzed using multiple logistic regression to determine the associated factors of sarcopenia by age groups.
The prevalence of sarcopenia increased significantly with age. Physical activity, blood pressure, waist circumference, triglycerides, vitamin D level were found to be factors significantly associated with sarcopenia in all age groups. Total energy intake was found to be a factor that is significantly associated with sarcopenia among the adults aged 20–39 years. Fasting glucose, suicidal ideation, perceived health status, mobility problem, pain/discomfort, total energy intake were found to be factors associated with sarcopenia in the adults aged 40–64 years. Sex, residential area, smoking, drinking, fasting glucose, osteoarthritis, fall experience, usual activity problem, protein intake were factors associated with sarcopenia in the adults over 65 years of age.
The findings show that sarcopenia in adults and the associated factors were different by age groups. Thus, these factors should be considered in the development of intervention programs for the care and prevention of sarcopenia, and such programs should be modified according to different age groups.
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The objectives of this study were to evaluate the long-term effect of anti-platelet treatment on the radiological progression of collagen-induced arthritis in rats.
Female Lewis rats with collagen-induced arthritis were divided into three experimental groups: saline, aspirin monotherapy (n = 12), and aspirin–clopidogrel dual therapy (n = 12). Drugs were administered daily and continued up to 70 days after the induction of arthritis. The clinical arthritis index (weight, morphology score, and paw thickness) and radiological scores were evaluated.
The clinical arthritis index peaked on day 20, while the radiological scores peaked on day 35. No intergroup difference was observed in the clinical arthritis index throughout the experiment. The aspirin–clopidogrel dual therapy group had a significantly higher mean radiological score than the other groups (
Anti-platelet agent treatment improved radiological findings on day 70. These observations emphasize the importance of a future long-term study of the effects of anti-platelet agent treatment on arthritis.
This research investigated the barriers, attitudes, and dietary behaviors related to sodium reduction among the elderly Korean–Chinese population in Yanbian, China.
We conducted this pilot study using both descriptive research and a focus group interview at the elderly community center in Yanbian.
In total, 21 elderly Korean–Chinese (average age, 71 years) were examined. The findings showed that the top three barriers to sodium reduction were 1) the difficulties associated with having meals with others, 2) a preference for liquid based-dishes, and 3) the lack of taste in low-sodium dishes. Although the participants strongly believed that a reduced-sodium diet would improve their health, they were poorly aware of the amount of sodium in various foods and dishes. In particular, the focus group interviews with eight participants (mean age, 67 years) revealed that salt-preserved foods (e.g., Korean pickled cabbage called ‘
This study provides useful preliminary data to help design a nutrition intervention program for sodium reduction that targets the elderly Korean–Chinese population in China.
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Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of neonatal death and the second biggest cause of death in children under five years of age. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of PTB and its associated factors using logistic regression and decision tree classification methods.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 4,415 pregnant women in Tehran, Iran, from July 6–21, 2015. Data were collected by a researcher-developed questionnaire through interviews with mothers and review of their medical records. To evaluate the accuracy of the logistic regression and decision tree methods, several indices such as sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve were used.
The PTB rate was 5.5% in this study. The logistic regression outperformed the decision tree for the classification of PTB based on risk factors. Logistic regression showed that multiple pregnancies, mothers with preeclampsia, and those who conceived with assisted reproductive technology had an increased risk for PTB (
Identifying and training mothers at risk as well as improving prenatal care may reduce the PTB rate. We also recommend that statisticians utilize the logistic regression model for the classification of risk groups for PTB.
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This study aimed to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation among young and middle-aged adults, and explore the risk factors that affect suicidal ideation.
A descriptive study design was used for secondary data analysis. A total sample of 5,214 was drawn from two waves (2012–2013) of the 7th Korea Health Panel (KHP) survey. The KHP data were collected by a well-trained interviewer using the face-to-face method during home visits as well as self-report method. Descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were performed using SPSS 22.0.
The prevalence of suicidal ideation in young and middle-aged adults was 4.4% and 5.6%, respectively. For young adults, suicidal ideation risk was higher among those with low income or heavy drinking habits. In middle-aged adults, low income, poor perceived health status, negative perception of peer-compared health status, and negative social perspective were the major risk factors.
There is considerable risk of suicidal ideation in adulthood. Opportunities for increased income, avoidance of heavy drinking, and the construction of positive subjective health status and social perspective should be considered in suicide prevention interventions for Korean young and middle-aged adults.
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Few long-term studies have been conducted on the serotype and antibiotic resistance patterns of
A total of 276
A total of 22 different serotypes were identified, and the major serotypes were
Overall,
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The genus
Seventy-five
This study revealed a high prevalence of enterotoxin genes in
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High Rates of Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Gene Distribution Among Shigella spp. Isolated from Pediatric Patients in Tehran, Iran
Estrogen is an important hormone for cell growth, development, and differentiation by transcriptional regulation and modulation of intracellular signaling via second messengers. The reduction in the estrogen level after ovariectomy may lead to cognitive impairments associated with morphological changes in areas of the brain mediate memory. The aim of the present study was to find out the effect of tasks on the cognitive function after ovariectomy in rats.
The animals used in the experiment were 50 Sprague-Dawley female rats. This study applied a hippocampus-independent task (wheel running) and a hippocampus-dependent task (Morris water maze) after ovariectomy in rats and measured the cognitive performance (object-recognition and object-location test) and growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) and neurotrophin 3 (NT-3) expression in the hippocampus, which is an important center for memory and learning.
There were meaningful differences between the hippocampus-independent and hippocampus-dependent task groups for the object-location test and GAP-43 and NT-3 expression in the hippocampus, but not the object-recognition test. However, the hippocampus-independent task group showed a significant improvement in the object-recognition test, compared to the control group.
These results suggest that hippocampus-dependent task training after ovariectomy enhances the hippocampus-related memory and cognitive function that are associated with morphological and functional changes in the cells of the hippocampus.
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