The Effect of Vocational Counseling Interventions for Adults with Substance Use Disorders: A Narrative Review.

The authors reviewed the research literature evaluating the effectiveness of vocational counseling interventions focused on employment for consumers with substance use disorders. This review included 11 articles related to vocational counseling interventions, which are either incorporated with substance use treatment or not. The results of this review revealed that vocational counseling services have been highly efficacious in resulting in part-time and full-time jobs. The study designs had some limitations, and few studies employed randomized control trials (RCT).

Effect of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Starch and Seeds on the Physicochemical and Textural and Sensory Properties of Chicken Meatballs during Frozen Storage.

The effects of starch (corn and quinoa) and quinoa seeds on chicken meatballs' physicochemical, textural, and sensory properties were investigated during frozen storage. The chicken meatballs were prepared with corn starch (CS), quinoa starch (QS), quinoa seeds (Q), and combinations of corn starch and quinoa seeds (CS-Q), and quinoa starch and quinoa seeds (QS-Q), which were subjected to five freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles of temperature fluctuation conditions during frozen storage. Regardless of the type used (CS or QS), adding starch resulted in fewer cooking, drip, and reheating losses in chicken meatballs during frozen storage. The values of the hardness, gumminess, and chewiness of chicken meatballs with CS or QS were half those of chicken meatballs without starch, indicating that the addition of starch inhibited the change in the meatballs' texture. The total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values were progressive but did not dynamically increase during five F-T cycles. Chicken meatballs containing CS-Q or QS-Q showed significantly lower TBARS values than those with CS, QS, or Q after five F-T cycles. Adding quinoa seeds significantly increased the antioxidant activity and the chewiness of meatballs (p < 0.05) compared with starch only. The addition of the combination of QS-Q to chicken meatballs increased the values of taste, texture, and overall acceptability, indicating that quinoa starch and seeds may be introduced as premium ingredients to frozen meat products.

Cytoplasmic expression of a model antigen with M Cell-Targeting moiety in lactic acid bacteria and implication of the mechanism as a mucosal vaccine via oral route.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been widely studied as mucosal vaccine delivery carriers against many infectious diseases for heterologous expression of protein antigens. There are three antigen expression strategies for LAB: cytoplasmic expression (CE), cell surface display (SD), and extracellular secretion (ES). Despite the generally higher protein expression level and many observations of antigen-specific immunogenicity in CE, its application as a mucosal vaccine has been overlooked relative to SD and ES because of the antigens enclosed by the LAB cell wall. We hypothesized that the antigens in CE could be released from the LAB into the intestinal lumen before host bacterial access to gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), which could contribute to antigen-specific immune responses after oral administration. To elucidate this hypothesis, three recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) strains were constructed to produce a model antigen, BmpB, with or without an M cell-targeting moiety, and their immunogenicities were analyzed comparatively as oral vaccines in mouse model. The data indicated that the recombinant LPs producing BmpBs with different conformations could induce mucosal immunity differentially. This suggests that the cytoplasmic antigens in LAB could be released into the intestinal lumen, subsequently translocated through M cells, and stimulate the GALT to generate antigen-specific immune responses. Therefore, the CE strategy has great potential, especially in the application of oral LAB vaccines as well as SD and ES strategies. This research provides a better understanding of the mechanism for recombinant oral LAB vaccines and gives insight to the future design of LAB vaccines and oral delivery applications for useful therapeutic proteins.

Predictors of treatment participation rate of substance use disorders among Whites and African Americans.

Low treatment participation impedes successful treatment completion and reduces treatment effectiveness. This study explored relationships among treatment participation rate and individuals' symptom severities and employment statuses. A sample of 106 individuals with substance use disorders was recruited for cross-sectional investigation. Individuals who were employed at baseline or had lower symptom severities of baseline alcohol, drug use, and psychiatric issues had significantly higher treatment participation rates. Service providers should pay more attention to individuals' symptom severities and employment to encourage treatment participation. Integrated interventions including vocational services and illness management and recovery intervention could be provided to reduce individuals' symptom severities and increase employability. Implications of participation in substance abuse treatment are discussed.

Predictors of Post-Treatment Employment for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders.

This study examined the influence of gender, post-treatment issue severities, and treatment participation rate on the post-treatment employment status of consumers with substance use disorders. The study analyzed the archival data of 100 unemployed and underemployed participants from a substance abuse intensive outpatient program. We found significant differences in the characteristics of gender, severity of alcohol use, drug use, psychiatric issues, and treatment participation rate. Female gender and low treatment participation rates negatively predicted employment. This study increased understanding about the interplay of alcohol, drug, and psychiatric influences on post-treatment employment status.

Evaluation of the Digestibility of Korean Hanwoo Beef Cuts Using the in vitro Physicochemical Upper Gastrointestinal System.

The aim of this study was to investigate the digestibility of different Korean Hanwoo beef cuts using an in vitro digestion model, in vitro physicochemical upper gastrointestinal system (IPUGS). The four most commonly consumed cuts - tenderloin, sirloin, brisket and flank, and bottom round - were chosen for this study. Beef samples (75 g) were cooked and ingested into IPUGS, which was composed of mouth, esophagus, and stomach, thereby simulating the digestion conditions of humans. Digested samples were collected every 15 min for 4 h of simulation and their pH monitored. Samples were visualized under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to examine changes in the smoothness of the surface after digestion. Analysis of the amino acid composition and molecular weight (MW) of peptides was performed using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. Following proteolysis by the gastric pepsin, beef proteins were digested into peptides. The amount of peptides with higher MW decreased over the course of digestion. SEM results revealed that the surface of the digested samples became visibly smoother. Total indispensable and dispensable amino acids were the highest for the bottom round cut prior to digestion simulation. However, the total amount of indispensable amino acids were maximum for the tenderloin cut after digestion. These results may provide guidelines for the elderly population to choose easily digestible meat cuts and products to improve their nutritional and health status.

Infection status of hospitalized diarrheal patients with gastrointestinal protozoa, bacteria, and viruses in the Republic of Korea.

To understand protozoan, viral, and bacterial infections in diarrheal patients, we analyzed positivity and mixed-infection status with 3 protozoans, 4 viruses, and 10 bacteria in hospitalized diarrheal patients during 2004-2006 in the Republic of Korea. A total of 76,652 stool samples were collected from 96 hospitals across the nation. The positivity for protozoa, viruses, and bacteria was 129, 1,759, and 1,797 per 10,000 persons, respectively. Especially, Cryptosporidium parvum was highly mixed-infected with rotavirus among pediatric diarrheal patients (29.5 per 100 C. parvum positive cases), and Entamoeba histolytica was mixed-infected with Clostridium perfringens (10.3 per 100 E. histolytica positive cases) in protozoan-diarrheal patients. Those infected with rotavirus and C. perfringens constituted relatively high proportions among mixed infection cases from January to April. The positivity for rotavirus among viral infection for those aged < or = 5 years was significantly higher, while C. perfringens among bacterial infection was higher for > or = 50 years. The information for association of viral and bacterial infections with enteropathogenic protozoa in diarrheal patients may contribute to improvement of care for diarrhea as well as development of control strategies for diarrheal diseases in Korea.

RstA-promoted expression of the ferrous iron transporter FeoB under iron-replete conditions enhances Fur activity in Salmonella enterica.

The Fur protein is a primary regulator that monitors and controls cytoplasmic iron levels. We now report the identification of a regulatory pathway mediated by the Salmonella response regulator RstA that promotes Fur activity. Genome-wide expression experiments revealed that under iron-replete conditions, expression of the RstA protein from a plasmid lowered transcription levels of various genes involved in iron acquisition. The RstA protein controlled iron-responsive genes through the Fur-Fe(II) protein because deletion of the fur gene or iron depletion abrogated RstA-mediated repression of these genes. The RstA protein maintained wild-type levels of the Fur protein but exceptionally activated transcription of the feoAB operon encoding the ferrous iron transporter FeoB by binding directly to the feoA promoter. This FeoB induction resulted in increased ferrous iron uptake, which associates with the Fur protein because lack of RstA-dependent transcriptional activation of the feoA promoter and feoB-deletion abolished repression of the Fur target genes by the RstA protein. Under iron-replete conditions, RstA expression retarded Salmonella growth but enabled the Fur protein to repress the target genes beyond the levels which were simply accomplished by iron.