A Small Outbreak of Measles in 2013: In a Single Hospital in Northern Gyeonggi-do

PURPOSE: This study analyzed a small outbreak of measles at a single hospital located in northern Gyeonggi-do in 2013. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of measles patients at The Catholic University of Korea Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital from August to October, 2013. RESULTS: Fifteen children were confirmed to have measles by RT-PCR and serum IgM test; 1 neonate, 11 infants, and 3 toddlers. None of the patients had received Measles-Mumps-Rubella vaccination. All patients showed B3 type in viral genotyping. Nine children (60%) had been exposed to measles during treatment for other diseases in the pediatric ward. Incubation period was between 8 and 15 days. Fever started at a median 10 days after exposure and persisted for a median of 8 days. Rash showed at a median 13 days after exposure. Respiratory complications were observed in 40% of patients. Diarrhea developed in 53% of patients. CONCLUSION: Although measles has been well-controlled due to the high rate of vaccination coverage, it is possible to have an outbreak at any given time, especially in infants. We must learn from this outbreak, and remain fully aware of the possibility of reemergence and provide proper management, including vaccination or immune globulin administration, to infants exposed to measles. Reevaluation of serum IgG titer of neonates, infants, and pregnant women may be the first step to prevent further outbreaks.

Customer perception and expert assessment in restaurant food environment by region: Focused on restaurants in Suwon, Hwaseong city / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the food environment, particularly focusing on restaurants in three areas (Suwon city, Hwaseong Byeongieom-dong, and Bibong-myun). METHODS: A total of 662 persons were surveyed on customers' perceptions of the food environment in restaurants. A structured questionnaire composed of 30 questions on 7 factors, sanitation (4 items), displaying information (5), food quality (12), information on nutritional and healthy food choice (6), restaurant's accessibility (1), availability (1), and affordability (1) was used. In addition, an expert assessment of restaurant sanitation, and information on nutritional.healthy food choice was conducted through visiting 126 restaurants. RESULTS: Scores (range of score : 1~7) for each factors assessing the restaurant food environment were 5.06 for sanitation factors, 5.05 for displaying information factors, 5.13 for taste.appearance factors, and 4.35 for healthy menu factors. Informations on nutritional.healthy food choice showed a low rate: only 16.24% of the subjects answered that there is a message encouraging choice of healthy foods and 27.4% answered that menus contain nutritional information. Significant differences in food environment were observed by region (city, town, rural). The restaurants food environment in the rural area turned out to be poorer than that of the other two areas. In comparison of customer perception and expert assessment, significant differences were observed for 'Employee appearances and uniforms are clean and tidy' (p < .05), and 'There is a message encouraging the choice of healthy foods' (p < .05). CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence for differences of restaurant food environment by regions. In the rural area, there is a problem in restaurant's accessibility, availability, and affordability because of a lack of variety in menu items and restaurants. This results suggest that there is a need for more healthy food restaurants in the rural area.

Comparison of the distribution and accessibility of restaurants in urban area and rural area / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure accessibility and to examine distribution of restaurants in the local community. METHODS: The target area of this study was two urban areas and a rural area in a city. We collected location information on all restaurants in target areas and classified all restaurants according to Korean food restaurants and Non-Korean food restaurants. We measured restaurant density per 100 m from the residences of the study population and calculated the distance of the nearest restaurant from the residences of the subjects using the Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis method. We compared the accessibility and distribution of restaurants in urban areas with that of the rural area, and compared the accessibility and distribution of Korean restaurants with that of Non-Korean restaurants. RESULTS: Restaurants in urban areas were more dense than those in the rural area, and, in urban areas, restaurants were intensively distributed around the subjects' residence. Also, there were more Non-Korean food restaurants than Korean food restaurants in urban areas, and it was opposite in the rural area. CONCLUSION: It is important that we understood the current state of the restaurant environment in the local community using GIS analysis for the first time in the field of food environment. Further research is necessary on the association of restaurant environments and the dietary life of the population.

Developing and testing the reliability of a measurement tool for an urban area food environment in Korea: Focusing on food stores / 한국영양학회지

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to develop a reliable measurement tool to assess the urban food environment, particularly focusing on food stores in Korea. METHODS: The items for the measurement tool were selected through systematic literature reviews and adjusted to the Korean food environment. A total of 25 food stores in an urban area were recruited for the pilot test to evaluate the time required for completion of the survey, ease of response, willingness to participate, difficulties in conducting the survey, and appropriateness, and 34 food stores were recruited for assessment of the reliability of the tool using percent agreement and kappa value. RESULTS: The measurement tool is composed of questions regarding food store characteristics, accessibility, and food availability. On average, 26 minutes was required to survey a single food store, and the subjects and interviewers answered that the process was not difficult for the survey. The percent agreement for the inter-rater and test-retest reliability ranged from 93.9~98.8% and 91.9~97.9, respectively. The kappa values ranged from 0.78 to 0.97, which was very high. Percent agreement and kappa value of food with healthy option were lower than those of the general food in the inter-rater reliability (p = 0.0027, p = 0.0095 respectively) as well as in the test-retest reliability (p = 0.0081, p = 0.0290, respectively), although they were still high enough (86.4~98.0% for percent agreement, 0.64~0.96 for kappa value). CONCLUSION: The newly developed measurement tool for assessment of food store environment appears to be feasible and reliable; therefore, it can be applied to research on the association between food environment and dietary behaviors as well as health outcomes.

Effects of Antioxidative, DPPH Radical Scavenging Activity and Antithrombogenic by the Extract of Sancho ( Zanthoxylum Schinifolium)

Effects of root, stem and leaf extract of sancho (Zanthoxylum schinifolium) on the inhibition of lipid peroxidation in the hepatic microsome of rat, DPPH radical scavenging activity and activated partial thromboplastin times (APTT) were examined in vitro. The highest inhibition of hepatic microsomal lipid peroxidation was observed by ethyl acetate fraction than that of methylene chloride fraction of the root and stem extracts. The high inhibition of lipid peroxidation was determined in the leaf, the root and the stem in order. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of ethyl acetate fraction was higher than that of n-butanol fraction and it was similar to the root and the steam extract. It was similar to the inhibition of hepatic microsomal lipid peroxidation. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was the highest in 2.500 mg/mL of ethyl acetate fraction and it was 4.4 fold higher than that of h-tocopherol, as an antioxidant standard. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was dependent on the extract concentration in the range of 0.125 - 5.000 mg/mL. The thromboplastin times were higher than that of n-butanol fraction and it was similar to the root and the steam extracts. The leaf extract showed the highest antithrombogenic effect followed by the stem and then the root extract. The activated partial thromboplastin times were dependent on the extract concentration in the range of 0.100 - 2.000 mg/mL. Consequently, the effects of antioxidative, DPPH radical scavenging activity and antithrombogenic of Z. schinifolium was observed due to the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and the DPPH radical scavenging activity by methylene chloride, n-butanol and ethyl acetate fraction of the leaf extract.