This study was performed to suggest a new efficiency measurement indicator is necessary for evaluating management efficiency of food service operations in contract-managed foodservice companies, to distinguish efficient food service providers and inefficient ones by measuring comparative efficiency among food service operations, and to provide guidance for effective management through showing benchmarking targets for improving inefficient food service providers. The subjects of this study were the 93 B&I foodservice Operations of a domestic contract food service company. The analysis was conducted using CCR model in DEA model. A software, 'Frontier analyst', was used for the analysis. Based on the results derived from comparison of efficiency evaluation classified by providers with use of DEA, it was possible to identify efficient food providers and inefficient providers, and subsequently provide benchmarking guidelines for improvement of the inefficient groups. In analyzing the differences between the results of DEA efficiency evaluation by detailed operation status of food service providers, there was significant difference of efficiency outcomes in terms of contract types, while there was no significant difference in terms of business condition.
Benchmarking ; Commerce* ; Efficiency ; Food Services

Atelectasis is a collapse of the lung due to absence of air within the alveoli and is a relatively common complication following surgery under general anesthesia, but severe total or segmental collapses rarely develop during anesthesia and surgery. Total or segmental lung collapses usually result from the compression or obstruction of bronchial pathways by mass lesions, foreign bodies, or secretions such as mucus, blood, or pus. Anesthesiologists must carefully manage patients who develop pulmonary atelectasis because it is sometimes fatal. We experienced iatrogenic pulmonary atelectasis by insertion of a sump drainage tube into the trachea during general anesthesia for laparoscopic splenectomy and diagnosed with fiberoptic bronchoscopy and chest X-ray.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Bronchoscopy ; Drainage ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Lung ; Mucus ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Splenectomy ; Suppuration ; Thorax ; Trachea

Acquired brain injury patients who present dysphagia associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD) are more common than expected. TMJD is associated with restriction of mouth opening and jaw movements, thereby interfering with the oral phase of the swallowing process. An 18-year-old female with traumatic brain injury mainly complained of dysphagia when first admitted. After nearly one year of conventional dysphagia therapy, the patient could barely eat a minced diet. The videofluoroscopic swallowing study showed that a soft and bite-sized diet was tolerable to the patient, but the restricted mouth opening and mandibular movement imposed a major limitation of the dietary build-up. After examining the imaging studies, the patient was diagnosed with TMJD attributed to muscle lesion and misaligned stomatognathic system. The patient subsequently underwent a stomatognathic alignment and TMJ strengthening exercise program over a span of two weeks, after which the therapeutic effects were evaluated with the craniomandibular index (CMI) and Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) parameters, before and after the exercise program. The results showed improvements in the neck mobility and orofacial movements, and the patient was able to consume soft and bite-sized diet in the clinical setting. Thus, we propose that active exercise to achieve postural correction and TMJ muscle strengthening are effective treatment options for dysphagia associated with TMJD.

This study aimed to examine the distribution of gastrointestinal parasitic infections in domestic pigs in the Republic of Korea. From May 2020 to October 2021, 364 pig fecal samples were collected from 75 farms in 7 Provinces and microscopically examined. A total of 170 (46.7%) pigs were infected with at least one of the following parasites: Balantioides coli, strongyles, Ascaris suum, Trichuris suis, and coccidia. By parasite species, B. coli, strongyles, A. suum, T. suis, and coccidia oocysts or eggs were detected in 144 (39.6%), 24 (6.6%), 14 (3.8%), 4 (1.1%), and 1 (0.3%) samples, respectively. One hundred fifty-four, 15, and 1 cases showed single, double, and triple infections, respectively. Of the swine fecal samples from 75 farms, 69 specimens (92.0%) were infected with 1 or more parasites. All surveyed farms across the country exhibited a positive rate of over 30%, among which the highest positive rate was 65.0% in Chungcheongnam-do, and Jeollabuk-do was followed by 61.9%. Winter showed a statistically lower prevalence than other seasons. This study showed that gastrointestinal parasites are prevalent in pigs in Korea, although the diversity of parasites is low.

Acquired brain injury patients who present dysphagia associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD) are more common than expected. TMJD is associated with restriction of mouth opening and jaw movements, thereby interfering with the oral phase of the swallowing process. An 18-year-old female with traumatic brain injury mainly complained of dysphagia when first admitted. After nearly one year of conventional dysphagia therapy, the patient could barely eat a minced diet. The videofluoroscopic swallowing study showed that a soft and bite-sized diet was tolerable to the patient, but the restricted mouth opening and mandibular movement imposed a major limitation of the dietary build-up. After examining the imaging studies, the patient was diagnosed with TMJD attributed to muscle lesion and misaligned stomatognathic system. The patient subsequently underwent a stomatognathic alignment and TMJ strengthening exercise program over a span of two weeks, after which the therapeutic effects were evaluated with the craniomandibular index (CMI) and Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) parameters, before and after the exercise program. The results showed improvements in the neck mobility and orofacial movements, and the patient was able to consume soft and bite-sized diet in the clinical setting. Thus, we propose that active exercise to achieve postural correction and TMJ muscle strengthening are effective treatment options for dysphagia associated with TMJD.

The organic anion transporters (OATs) are expressed in various tissues, primarily in the kidney and liver, but they are also expressed in the placenta, small intestine, and the choroid plexus, which are all epithelial tissues that transport xenobiotics. Six isoforms of OATs are currently known. Considering the variety of organic anionic compounds, other OATs isoforms can be assumed. In this connection, we have searched for a new isoform in the expressed sequence tag (EST) database. We found the new candidate clone AK052752 in the mouse kidney cDNA library and we named it mouse organic anion transporter like protein 1 (mOATLP1). The mOATLP1 cDNA consisted of 2221 base pairs that encoded a 552 amino acid residue protein with 12 putative transmembrane domains. The deduced amino acid sequence of mOATLP1 showed 37 to 63% identity to other members of the OAT family. According to the tissue distribution based on Northern blot analysis, 2.7 kb and 2.9 kb mOATLP1 transcripts (approximate sizes) were observed in the kidney and liver. An 85-kDa band (approximate) was detected using Western blot analysis of mouse kidney performed with a synthesized oligopeptide-induced mOATLP1 antibody. Immunohistochemical results showed mOATLP1 was stained in the blood vessels, glomeruli (the parietal epithelial cells and podocytes), distal convoluted tubules, connecting tubules, and inner medullary collecting tubules. mOATLP1 appears to be a novel candidate for an organic anion transporter isoform identified in the kidney.
Tissue Distribution ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Rabbits ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Protein Isoforms/isolation & purification ; Phylogeny ; Organic Anion Transporters/*isolation & purification/*metabolism ; Oligopeptides/immunology ; Multigene Family ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mice ; Kidney/*metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Cloning, Molecular ; Blotting, Western ; Animals ; Amino Acid Sequence

The purpose of this study was to investigate the fluoroquinolone resistance frequency of Enterococcus spp. from normal chicken feces and to analyse mutations of the gyrA and parC gene associated with fluoroquinolone resistance. Among 52 Enterococcus faecalis and 25 E. faecium isolates, 23 (44.2%) E. faecalis and 7 (28.0%) E. faecium were resistant to ciprofloxacin (CIP) by disc diffusion method. Genetic exchange in gyrA and parC gene among 2 CIP intermediate isolates and 15 CIP resistant isolates were found in the amino acid codon of Ser-83 and Asp-87, and Ser-80 and Glu-84, respectively. These mutants contained a change from Ser to Phe, Val, Tyr, Ile, Thr or Pro at codon 83 and from Glu to Gly or Leu at codon 87 in gyrA gene, and a change from Ser to Ile or Thr at codon 80 and from Glu to Asp or Lys at codon 84 in parC gene. The isolates with mutation in gyrA regardless of a mutation in parC showed high resistance (MIC > or =32 microgram/ml) to CIP, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin. These results suggested that gyrA gene is the primary target for 4 fluoroquinolones resistance in Enterococcus spp.
Chickens* ; Ciprofloxacin ; Codon ; Diffusion ; Enterococcus faecalis ; Enterococcus* ; Feces* ; Fluoroquinolones ; Norfloxacin ; Ofloxacin ; Viperidae

The curriculum reform was undertaken at Kyungpook National University School of Medicine (KNUSM) to meet new educational objectives in order to cope with a rapid societal changes anticipated occurring in 21st century. The KNUSM Curriculum Development Committee was charged to formulate a new curriculum, which consisted of enhancement of patient-centered care based clerkship, integrated courses based on organ systems, problem-based learning, and additional teaching on social medicine, medical informatics and biomedical engineering. The philosophy of this curricular reform has been to modify methods of teaching medical students toward self-directed learning and student-centered. This whole concept was a drastic departure from the traditional lecturing. In the new curriculum, total of 180 credit courses, 4395 hours to graduate medical school were reduced to 170 credit courses, 4250 hours. As a part of the social medicine course, a 2 credit-hour course on patient-doctor relationship was taught and two credit-hour PBL tutorials were added to freshman, sophomore and junior years. In order to carry out this education reform, three new departments were inaugurated such as Biomedical Engineering, Medical Informatics and Medical Education. The school facility has also been improved during this preparatory period. The new curriculum has been implemented in 1999 academic year after approximately 4 years of preparatory period and annual faculty workshops have been held to monitor the progress of the reform and improve courses by evaluating impact of the change on both faculty members and students as well. The interim evaluation revealed several issues remained to be resolved. In conclusion, the acceptance of this reform was excellent from both faculty members and students although there have been continuous problem solving and adjustments necessary. The real assessment of the outcome of the reform requires many years to come and there has to be continuous monitoring of the progress and adjustment of curriculum are the pivotal of a success of the sort of education reform.
Biomedical Engineering ; Curriculum* ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Gyeongsangbuk-do* ; Humans ; Learning ; Medical Informatics ; Patient-Centered Care ; Philosophy ; Problem Solving ; Problem-Based Learning ; Schools, Medical ; Social Medicine ; Students, Medical

BACKGROUND: Brain inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) might be detectable in several pathologic conditions, and it is thought to play an important role in their pathophysiology. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-1beta are believed to be essential factors of iNOS induction of the brain. METHODS: After intrahippocampal stereotaxic injection of lipopoly-saccharide (LPS), the rat brains were removed at 6, 12 and 24 h. The rat brain tissues were examined to clarify the expression patterns of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and iNOS. RESULTS: The inflammatory cells which were stained with anti-TNF-alpha antibody, appeared in 6 h and increased for 24 h after LPS injection. The iNOS positive cells appeared after 12 h of LPS injection. A semiquantitative analysis of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that the TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA arose at 1 h, peaked at 6 h and then declined until 48 h after LPS injection. The iNOS mRNA arose after 6 h, peaked at 12 h, and declined until 48 h after LPS injection. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the induction of inflammatory events by intrahippocampal injection of LPS activates TNF-alpha and IL-1beta secretion, and this is followed by an induction of iNOS expression. TNF-alpha and IL-1beta seem to be related with iNOS expression in brain inflammation.
Animals ; Brain ; Encephalitis ; Hippocampus* ; Interleukin-1beta* ; Interleukins ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II* ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

This study reports the first two clinical cases of spirometrosis caused by Spirometra sp. in cats in Korea. In these two cases, the cats vomited, and long proglottids of tapeworm were recovered. The sick cats presented with anorexia and lethargy. However, they unexpectedly showed no diarrhea, which is the main symptom of spirometrosis. Based on a fecal floatation test as well as morphological and molecular analyses, the parasite was diagnosed as Spirometra sp. The 2 cases were treated with praziquantel. This study suggests regular monitoring of health and deworming in companion animals, even when animals are well cared for, with regular preventive medication. Additionally, spirometrosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis in cases of gastrointestinal symptoms in Spirometra endemic areas.