BACKGROUND: Rapid screening of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is very important for controlling and preventing the spread of VRE in hospitals. We compared the performance characteristics of a chromogenic agar (ChromID VRE, bioMerieux, France: CA) to that of Enterococcosel agar (supplemented with 6 microgram/mL of vancomycin :EA) for direct detection of VRE from stool swabs. METHODS: Total 125 rectal swabs were collected from 57 patients in the intensive care units of an 850-bed university hospital over a period of 3 months. The samples were inoculated on EA, CA and into broth enrichment containing 6 microgram/mL of vancomycin (BE). BE was subcultured on CA after overnight incubation. RESULTS: Eighty two samples from 22 patients were positive for VRE by BE. At 24 h, the sensitivity/specificity of EA and CA were 89%/100% and 72%/100%, respectively. At 48 h, the sensitivity/specificity of EA and CA were 94%/89% and 89%/100%, respectively. CONCLUSION: CA provides equivalent sensitivity comparable to EA for the recovery of VRE at 48 h incubation, and has additional advantage of being able to differentiate between vancomycine resistant E. faecium and E. faecalis.
Agar ; Humans ; Imidazoles ; Intensive Care Units ; Mass Screening ; Nitro Compounds ; Vancomycin

BACKGROUND: Vibrio parahaemolyticus belonged to the new 03:K6 serotype was demonstrated an unusual potential to spread and an enhanced propensity to cause infection in the worldwide. Recently, increased numbers of V. parahaemolyticus 03:K6 had been isolated in Korea, and we analyzed the prevalence and molecular genetic characteristics of V. parahaemolyticus 03:K6 isolates. METHODS: V. parahaemolyticus were isolated from clinical specimens of patients with diarrhea in Hanyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, from 1998 to 2005. The serovars of isolates were determined by slide agglutination test with specific antisera. All isolates were examined for the presence of tdh/trh genes. AGS-PCR method detecting the new 03:K6 clone was used in this study. We analyzed clonality of these isolates by infrequent restriction site-polymerase chain reaction (IRS-PCR). RESULTS: Thirty-six strains were isolated from 1998 to 2005. The main serotype of isolates were 03:K6 (24/36: 67%), All of them have tdh gene but not trh gene and an unique toxRS gene of the new 03:K6. The morphotypes of 03:K6 isolates show a same pattern of IRS-PCR, but can easily be differentiated from non-03:K6 and 04:K68 isolates. CONCLUSION: The 03:K6 was a main serotype of V. parahaemolyticus isolated from 1998 to 2005 and they show same molecular characteristics.
Agglutination Tests ; Clone Cells ; Diarrhea ; Humans ; Immune Sera ; Korea ; Molecular Biology* ; Prevalence* ; Seoul ; Vibrio parahaemolyticus* ; Vibrio*

Purpose: With increased time spent at home due to prolonged online classes, this study sought to determine how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the mukbang- and cookbang-watching patterns and dietary life of college students. Methods: All students majoring in food and nutrition (FN) at a college in Gyeonggi, Korea, participated in the survey in April 2019 (M/F = 36/106) and June 2020 (M/F -37/130) and data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0. Results: Compared to students responding in 2019, those in 2020 reported more frequently eating alone (p < 0.01) and cooking (p < 0.01), and evaluated their diets better regarding pleasant mealtimes atmosphere (p < 0.05), moderation in drinking (p < 0.05), and not consuming excessively delivery foods (p < 0.001), processed foods (p < 0.01), foods with animal fat (p < 0.01), salty foods (p < 0.01), and sweets (p < 0.01). Although the proportion of respondents who answered that they watched mukbang and cookbang at least occasionally did not change, greater proportions of respondents reported watching both genres frequently (p < 0.001, respectively) and spending less time/day in watching mukbang (p < 0.05) in 2020 vs. 2019. While they evaluated the effect of mukbang- and cookbang-watching on overall diet similarly, the proportion of respondents that reported feeling as though mukbang-watching prompted them to eat more of less-desirable foods decreased from 54.3% to 41.5% (p < 0.05).Diet improvement of participants due to COVID-19 resulted in that the association between frequent mukbang-watching and unhealthier dietary habits in 2019 was not shown in 2020. Conclusion Our results suggest that the prolonged at-home stays due to COVID-19 might have improved many aspects of diet and decreased undesirable effect of frequent mukbangwatching in case of college students majoring in FN.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: As watching food-related programs has become very popular among the young generation in Korea, this study sought to compare the Mukbang- and Cookbang-watching status of university students with their dietary life. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The participants were 380 students who were not majoring in food and nutrition at a university in Gyeonggi, Korea. Based on self- reports, the participants were grouped according to their frequency of watching Mukbang or Cookbang: frequent-watching (FW) 21.1% and 5.3%, respectively; moderate-watching (MW) 43.9% and 27.9%, respectively; and not-watching (NW) 35.0% and 66.8% respectively. RESULTS: In the FW group, up to 88.8% and 70.0% of participants reported watching Mukbang and Cookbang, respectively, ≥ 3 days/week. Almost all participants in the FW and MW groups reported intention to keep watching these shows. The most frequent watching route was “YouTube” and the most important criterion to select a program was “food". In the case of Mukbang, but not Cookbang, the participants in the FW group scored their diet significantly worse than those in the NW group (P < 0.05). A greater proportion of participants felt that watching Cookbang improved their diets rather than worsened them (14.3% vs. 0.8%, respectively), while more participants said that watching Mukbang worsened their diets rather than improved them (8.1% vs. 2.4%, respectively). In both cases, greater differences were shown in the FW groups compared to the MW groups (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01 for Cookbang and Mukbang, respectively). Moreover, the participants answered that Mukbang-watching prompted them to eat more of less desirable food, such as through eating out and purchasing convenient and delivered foods, whereas Cookbang-watching made them want to cook more of their own food. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggested that Korean university students who frequently watch Mukbang, but not Cookbang, may be a nutritionally vulnerable group that needs attention.

The Center for Children’s Foodservice Management periodically visited children’s foodservice facilities forhygiene, safety and nutrition management, and the ‘HSQ (Hygiene Safety Quotient) and NQ (NutritionQuotient) Management Web & App Program’ was developed and applied to improve the health, safety, andnutrition management status of children’s foodservice facilities. The HSQ is a comprehensive hygiene andsafety index consisting of six categories from the hygiene and safety checklist for children’s foodservice facilitiesprovided by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The NQ is a nutrition index for foodservice facilitiesconsisting of five categories from the nutrition checklist. First, this program can be used to efficientlyunderstand the actual conditions of children’s foodservice. Foodservice facilities are provided with the resultreport prepared by the center without restrictions on time or place. Second, it can be used as “a channel forcomfortable communication with foodservice facilities”. Foodservice facilities are provided with a route wherequestions and resolutions can be communicated to the center. Third, it is easy to compare and review the resultsof foodservice facilities by institution and number of visits while downloading the results data at thesame time, as the result report is written based on hygiene, safety, and nutrition visits. Through such programs,it is believed that standardized work and integrated management will improve the work efficiency ofthe center’s employees. It is also thought that these programs will promote healthier life-styles in children byestablishing a safe food environment for children’s foodservice.

The objective of this study was to develop nutrition education materials for older adults, 'nutritional management for healthy aging'. A booklet and four leaflets were developed based on lesson plans. Topics of the lesson plans included eating habit assessment, Korean food guide pyramid, meal planning, eating sensibly and weight management. The titles of the leaflets were 'Eating right for healthy aging', 'Eat calcium-rich foods', 'Enjoy fruits & vegetables' and 'Weight management'. Illustrations and icons appropriate to the texts were designed using Illustrator 9.0 and Photoshop 6.0. Booklet (letter size, 5 chapters, 44 pages) and leaflets (B4 size, 6 sections) focused on modifying undesirable eating habits, providing practical tips for desirable behaviors, and behavioral modification such as recording in a food diary, goal setting and increasing self-efficacy. The drafts were pilot-tested by interviews with older adults(n=10), and minor changes were made. The characteristics of revised materials are as follows; i) materials focused on providing desirable eating behaviors for healthy aging, ii) messages were simple and specific, iii) large fonts(13 pt) were used and materials included interesting pictures and illustrations, iv) materials provided tips for balanced diets and recipes for older adults, v) materials included sections for participation of learners including assessment of nutritional risk factors and obesity, meal planning and games. The revised materials are self-explanatory and can be used by older adults and in nutrition education for older adults.
Adult ; Aging* ; Diet ; Diet Records ; Eating ; Education* ; Feeding Behavior ; Fruit ; Humans ; Meals ; Obesity ; Pamphlets ; Risk Factors

In order to investigate the incidence, clinical and microbiologic characteristics of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in Korea, a prospective observational study was performed. From September 2008 through January 2010, all patients whose stool was tested for toxin assay A&B and/or C. difficile culture were studied for clinical characteristics. Toxin types of the isolates from stool were tested. The mean incidence of CDI per 100,000 patient-days was 71.6 by month (range, 52.5-114.0), and the ratio of CDI to antibiotic-associated diarrhea was 0.23. Among 200 CDI patients, 37.5% (75/200) was severe CDI based on severity score. Clinical outcome of 189 CDI was as followed; 25.9% (49/189) improved without treatment, 84.3% (118/140) achieved clinical cure and attributed mortality was 0.7% (1/140) with the treatment. Recurrence rate was 21.4% (30/140) and cure without recurrence was 66.4% (93/140). The most common type of toxin was toxin A-positive/toxin B-positive strain (77.5%), toxin A-negative/toxin B-positive strains or binary toxin-producing strains comprised 15.4% or 7.1%, respectively. In conclusion, the incidence of CDI in Korea is a little higher than other reports during the non-epidemic setting. We expect that the change of epidemiology and clinical severity in CDI can be evaluated based on these results.
Aged ; Bacterial Proteins/analysis ; Bacterial Toxins/analysis ; Clostridium Infections/*epidemiology/physiopathology ; Clostridium difficile/*isolation & purification/*pathogenicity ; Diarrhea/epidemiology/microbiology ; Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous/*epidemiology/microbiology/pathology ; Enterotoxins/analysis ; Feces/microbiology ; Female ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Metronidazole/therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Recurrence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Treatment Outcome ; Vancomycin/therapeutic use

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the visiting occupational health services(OHS)and the factors associated with the proper control of blood pressure in hypertensive apartment management workers. METHODS: The study group included 60 workers,who were visited and followed up regularly by a nurse for a period of more than 6 months.We checked the risk factors of hypertension, blood pressure and provided hypertension control methods every 2 months. RESULTS: Mean systolic blood pressure decreased from 151.9 mmHg at the first visit to 141.1 mmHg at the last visit, and mean diastolic blood pressure also decreased from 93.6 mmHg to 87.1 mmHg (p<0.01).The number of workers who had regular exercise more than once a week increased from 7 (11.7%)at the first visit to 34 (56.7%)at the last visit, and the number of workers taking hypertensive medicines increased from 4 (6.7%) to 26 (43.3%)(p<0.01). The percentage of workers who either changed their life style or began taking hypertensive medication over the course of the action undertaken by the occupational health services showed a significant differences, 36.8%in the shorter intervention group, 43.5%in intermediate intervention group, and 72.2%in longer intervention group (p<0.05). Among those who were on shift work for less than 10 years was 32 (78.0%), while the corresponding number was only 9 (22.0%) for those who were on shift work for more than 10 years (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the visiting OHS was effective in bringing about a reduction in blood pressure, as well as an improvement in life style habits and in the use of medication. It suggests that occupational factors should be taken into account for the proper control of blood pressure in hypertensive apartment management workers.
Blood Pressure ; Hypertension* ; Life Style ; Occupational Health Services* ; Occupational Health* ; Risk Factors

Purpose: This study compares the snacking pattern, diet, lifestyle, and food preference of children by evaluating the most frequently eaten snacks. Methods: The survey enrolled 435 students from three elementary schools in Gyeonggi. Based on the most frequently eaten snacks, the subjects were divided into 3 groups: fruits and milk/dairy products for natural snacks (NS, n = 114); noodles, snack foods and fast foods for meal-like snacks (MS, n = 74); cookies, beverages and bread as sweet snacks (SS, n = 247). Results: Compared to the MS group, preferences of the NS group were significantly higher for jabgokbap (cooked rice with multi-grains, p < 0.05) and saengchae (seasoned raw vegetables, p < 0.01), and significantly lower for gogitwigim (deep-fried meat, p < 0.05). Taste preference of the NS group was considered to be more desirable; the taste preference of more subjects was ‘sweet taste’ in the SS group, ‘spicy taste’ in the MS group, ‘salty taste’ in the MS and SS groups, and ‘sour taste’ and ‘bland taste’ in the NS group than the other groups. Compared tothe MS and SS groups, the NS group was determined to exercise more frequently; exercising for more than 30 minutes/day was determined to be 76.3% in the NS group and 58.1% and 57.9% in the other groups (p < 0.01). Moreover, a higher proportion of subjects in the MS group tended to answer ‘not hungry’ as the reason for leaving school meals, as compared to other groups (p = 0.055), thereby suggesting that inappropriate snacking habits interfere with regular meals. Conclusion This study provides evidence that healthy snacking habits, which include natural snacks such as milk/dairy products and fruits, are important for children during the elementary school years, since these habits are associated with healthier diet, lifestyle, and food and taste preferences. These results provide basic information for developing nutritional education materials for elementary school children.

Homeroom teachers are not usually nutrition professionals, but they spend a lot of time with students in elementary school classrooms. This study was conducted to determine the association of homeroom teachers’ nutrition education with the dietary habits of their classroom children. The subjects were 131 homeroom teachers and their 1,102 children from 17 elementary schools in Gyeonggi, Korea. Self-administered questionnaires to collect information on dietary habits were conducted in December 2016. The dietary habits were determined with the adherences to the Dietary Guidelines for Adults and Children, respectively, by coding the better diet life with a higher score. The significances between groups according to teachers’ implementation of nutrition education (106 implemented, 25 not implemented) were analyzed by using SPSS at P＜0.05. Implementing nutrition education was not associated with the dietary habits of teachers themselves, but their students. Therefore, the students of teachers who implemented nutrition education had significantly higher adherence to 8 items out of 19 items (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). More of the students considered themselves as non-picky eaters (P＜0.05), tried to eat all the foods served at school lunch even when it contained unwanted ingredients (P＜0.01), and agreed on the need of nutrition education (P＜0.01), as compared to their counterparts. Conclusively, this study suggests that nutrition education delivered by homeroom teachers may be associated with more desirable dietary habits of students, even though homeroom teachers are not nutrition professionals. Therefore, efforts should be undertaken to develop and provide proper contents for homeroom teachers to use in nutrition education for elementary students.