BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated Korean and Taiwan adults on the importance of and the satisfaction with street food sanitation and street food choice factor, in order to present management and improvement measures for street foods. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The present study conducted a survey on 400 randomly chosen adults (200 Korean, 200 Taiwanese). General characteristics, eating habits, street food intake frequency, and preference by type of street food of respondents were checked. Respondents' importance and satisfaction of street food hygiene and selection attributes were also measured. In order to test for the difference between groups, chi2-test and t-test were performed. ISA was also performed to analyze importance and satisfaction. RESULTS: Results showed that the importance of sanitation was significantly higher than satisfaction on all items in both Korea and Taiwan, and the satisfaction with sanitation was higher in Taiwan than in Korea. According to ISA results with street food sanitation, satisfaction was low while importance was high in both Korea and Taiwan. In terms of street food choice factor, importance scores were significantly higher than satisfaction scores on all items. In addition, satisfaction scores on all items except 'taste' were significantly higher in Taiwan than in Korea. CONCLUSIONS: A manual on sanitation management of street foods should be developed to change the knowledge and attitude toward sanitation by putting into practice a regularly conducted education. Considering the popularity of street foods and its potential as a tourism resource to easily publicize our food culture, thorough management measures should be prepared on sanitation so that safe street food culture should be created.
Adult ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Eating ; Education ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Korea ; Sanitation* ; Taiwan*

BACKGROUND: Currently available data suggests that uric acid (UA) functions as an antioxidant after acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Nevertheless, the prognostic value of serum UA in AIS is controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between UA and functional outcomes after AIS. METHODS: UA levels were analyzed within 48 hours of stroke onset in patients between 2007 and 2012. Mean serum UA levels were compared between patients with good and poor functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score, 0-2 versus 3-6, respectively) at 3 months poststroke, and with and without early neurological improvement (ENI, > or = 4-versus <4-point differences on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score after 7 days). RESULTS: Serum UA levels differed according to the sex, age, stroke subtype, and presence of diabetes mellitus, smoking, and atrial fibrillation. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed an association between good functional outcome at 3 months and male gender, young age, history of dyslipidemia, good functional status before stroke (mRS score, 0-2), and low stroke severity (i.e., NIHSS score) on admission. However, higher serum UA levels were no longer associated with a good functional outcomes (odds ratio, 1.387; 95% confidence interval, 0.857-2.244; p=0.521). The mean serum UA levels did not differ significantly between patients with and without ENI. CONCLUSIONS: There was no association between serum UA levels and functional outcomes at 3 months in AIS.
Atrial Fibrillation ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dyslipidemias ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke* ; Uric Acid*

BACKGROUND: A leukoreduction filter was recently developed in Korea to reduce various kinds of adverse transfusion reactions. The objective of this study was to propose a domestic evaluation system for leukoreduction filters and to apply this evaluation system to assess the newly developed leukoreduction filter. METHODS: We prepared packed red blood cells from 60 units of whole blood (400 mL) collected from 60 normal individuals and evaluated the efficacy of the newly developed filter (FINECELL, KOLON INDUSTRIES, Gumi, Korea) and a control filter (RCM1, Haemonetics, MA, USA). To verify the evaluation system, we assessed the filtration time, residual leukocyte count, RBC recovery, RBC hemolysis, hemoglobin concentration, and hematocrit using a control filter RCM1 and compared the results with those of an evaluation performed by the American Red Cross (ARC) in 2013. We then evaluated the efficacy of the test filter FINECELL using the methods established in this study and compared the results with those of the control filter RCM1. RESULTS: The results of the current study were similar to those of the ARC with the control filters. The test filters developed in Korea were not inferior to commonly used control filters regarding residual leukocyte count, RBC recovery, and RBC hemolysis at 35 days after filtration. All of the results in the evaluation satisfied the international standards. CONCLUSION: These results of this study showed that the efficacy of the newly developed domestic leukoreduction filter were satisfactory and will contribute to improvement of quality of blood components in Korea.
Erythrocytes ; Filtration ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hematocrit ; Hemolysis ; Korea ; Leukocyte Count ; Methods* ; Red Cross ; Transfusion Reaction