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This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIP)(No. 2015R1A2A2A01005017).

The roots of Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) have many nutritional qualities and also have been used for health promotion as traditional medicine. The antimicrobial activity of Cichorium intybus L.`s (chicory) ethanol extract on Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876 were investigated using spot on lawn method in this study. Ethanol extract exhibited antimicrobial activities against Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876 with significance. Also, the results produced the larger zones of inhibition against Bacillus cereus ATCC 10876 tested, with increasing concentration of Cichorium intybus L.`s (chicory) ethanol extracts,. Hence, Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) could be served for keeping the safety of various dairy products as natural antimicrobial agents.

Background and Objective: The Korean agricultural population is now rapidly aging. Older people in rural areas are weak due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this case is to report treatment of injuries to the nerves at the wrist and hand level by Korean medicine. Methods: The pa...

Kaempferia parviflora (Krachaidam, Zingiberaceae) is used as a traditional Thai medicine for treating various ailments, including allergy, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and ulcer. Moreover, it is also used to promote longevity and as a nerve tonic. The aim of this study was to develop functional yoghurt containing Kaempferia parviflora and to examine the physicochemical characteristics of yoghurt supple-mented with different concentration of K. parviflora. To this end, we examined the pH and sensory evaluation of yoghurt containing K. parviflora. The pH of this yoghurt decreased whereas the TA increased with incubation time (up to 5 h) without altering the amounts of K. parviflora added. In the sensory evaluation, the taste, flavor, color, and overall acceptability decreased in proportion to the amount of K. parviflora added. Among the experimental group, high scores were achieved by yoghurt containing 1% K. parviflora compared with that by the control group. We conclude there is an urgent need for additional research on the production of this multi-functional yogurt (with properties including anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory), using an optimum concentration of K. Parviflora.

Rhizomes of Kaempferia parviflora (Zingiberaceae) have been used in traditional Thai medicine for health promotion. In this study, the antibacterial activity of ethanol extract of K. parviflora against Cronobacter spp. and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) was investigated using paper disc dilution method. The results revealed that the ethanol extract exhibited antibacterial activity against Cronobacter spp. and EHEC. With an increasing concentration of K. parviflora ethanol extract, larger zones of inhibition of Cronobacter spp. and EHEC strains tested were observed. Therefore, its antibacterial activity suggested that K. parviflora could be used as a natural additive to ascertain food safety of various dairy products.

Although cefoperazone is the most commonly used antibiotic in Campylobacter-selective media, the distribution of cefoperazone-resistant bacteria such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli is increasing. Here we evaluated the potential of cephamycins for use as supplements to improve modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) by replacing cefoperazone with the same concentrations (32 mg/L) of cefotetan (modified charcoal-cefotetan-deoxycholate agar, mCCtDA) and cefoxitin (modified charcoal-cefoxitin-deoxycholate agar, mCCxDA). In chicken carcass rinse samples, the number of mCCDA plates detecting for Campylobacter (18/70, 26%) was significantly lower than that of mCCtDA (42/70, 60%) or mCCxDA plates (40/70, 57%). The number of mCCDA plates (70/70, 100%) that were contaminated with non-Campylobacter species was significantly higher than that of mCCtDA (20/70, 29%) or mCCxDA plates (21/70, 30%). The most common competing species identified using mCCDA was ESBL-producing E. coli, while Pseudomonas species frequently appeared on mCCtDA and mCCxDA.

Intelligent machines are being deployed as human assistants in a variety of corporate, military, and healthcare settings. Research has generally examined how intelligent machines affect individual ...

Management of effort is one of the biggest challenges in any team, and is particularly difficult in distributed teams, where behavior is relatively invisible to teammates. Awareness systems, which provide real-time visual feedback about team members' behavior, may serve as an effective intervention tool for mitigating various sources of process-loss in teams, including team effort. However, most of the research on visualization tools has been focusing on team communication and learning, and their impact on team effort and consequently team performance has been hardly studied. Furthermore, this line of research has rarely addressed the way visualization tool may interact with team composition, while comprehension of this interaction may facilitate a conceptualization of more effective interventions. In this article we review the research on feedback in distributed teams and integrate it with the research on awareness systems. Focusing on team effort, we examine the effect of an effort visualization tool on team performance in 72 geographically distributed virtual project teams. In addition, we test the moderating effect of team composition, specifically team members' conscientiousness, on the effectiveness of the effort visualization tool. Our findings demonstrate that the effort visualization tool increases team effort and improves the performance in teams with a low proportion of highly conscientious members, but not in teams with a high proportion of highly conscientious members. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings, and suggest the need of future research to address the way technological advances may contribute to management and research of team processes.

We evaluate the accuracy of whole body muscle mass (WBMM) and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) using an InBody770 machine (InBody, Seoul, Korea) referenced to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 507 people (mean age 63.7 &plusmn, 10.8 years, body mass index (BMI) 25.2 &plusmn, 3.5 kg/m2). Mean WBMMs measured by BIA and DXA were 49.3 &plusmn, 6.6 kg and 46.8 &plusmn, 6.5 kg in men and 36.1 &plusmn, 4.7 kg and 34.0 &plusmn, 4.8 kg in women, respectively. The respective effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the difference were 2.49 (2.22&ndash, 2.76) for men, and 2.12 (1.91&ndash, 2.33) for women. Mean ASMMs measured by BIA and DXA were 22.1 &plusmn, 3.3 kg and 19.9 &plusmn, 3.2 kg in men, and 15.3 &plusmn, 2.5 kg and 13.5 &plusmn, 2.2 kg in women, respectively. The respective effect sizes and 95% CIs for the difference were 2.26 (2.10&ndash, 2.41) for men and 1.75 (1.65&ndash, 1.87) for women. The BIA clearly overestimated WBMM by 2.28 kg and ASMM by 1.97 kg compared with DXA. Using BMI, gender, and fat percentage, we derive equations that improved the residuals to &lt, 2 kg between methods from 38.29% to 85.91% for WBMM and 52.78% to 97.02% for ASMM.

Fresh vegetables are a frequent cause of foodborne disease outbreaks because they often do not undergo heat treatment prior to consumption. Pathogenic Escherichia coli strains are the major causative agents of produce-related outbreaks. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of conventional E. coli selective medium, MacConkey (MAC) agar, for the screening of fresh vegetable samples and evaluated the discrimination ability of Levine's eosin methylene blue (L-EMB) agar for E. coli-like colonies obtained from MAC agar. A total of 120 samples of lettuces (n = 60) and radish sprouts (n = 60) were analyzed. Among 17 (14.2%) MAC agar plates containing putative E. coli colonies, only one plate was confirmed E. coli-positive (positive predictive value = 5.9%). All 16 false-positive isolates were identified as Citrobacter braakii and formed E. coli-like colonies on L-EMB agar. These results indicate that in order to reduce false-positive results in screening fresh vegetable samples, both MAC and L-EMB selective agars should be modified with the aim of providing reliable differentiation between E. coli and C. braakii. Practical Applications Although MacConkey (MAC) and Levine's eosin methylene blue (L-EMB) agars are not specific for the detection of pathogenic Escherichia coli, the media are recommended for the isolation of pathogenic E. coli (except E. coli O157:H7) in the Food and Drug Administration Bacteriological Analytical Manual. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to develop each pathogenic strains-specific selective media as they were not classified by their biochemical characteristics. However, the unexpected high prevalence of Citrobacter braakii in fresh vegetables observed in this study indicates that the screening potential of these E. coli selective media needs to be improved.

The authors present a case of rapidly progressing eosinophilic granuloma (EG) of the skull without hemorrhage after minor trauma. A 6-year-old boy presented with a soft mass on the midline of his forehead. He had a surgery for EG 19 months ago. One month earlier, computed tomography (CT) and bone scans were performed to evaluate the possible recurrence of EG, and there was no evidence of recurrence in CT. However, a slightly increased uptake in the bone scan was noted on the midline of the forehead. A rapid growing mass developed in a new spot after a minor trauma 7 days before the patient arrived at the clinic. His physical examination was unremarkable, except for a non-tender, soft, and immobile mass. A plain skull X-ray and CT showed a lytic bony defect on the midline of the frontal bone. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 1.4 cm sized enhancing mass. Surgical resection and cranioplasty were done. The role of trauma in the development of EG is unclear. However, our case suggests that minor trauma is an aggravating factor for EG formation. Careful observation with regular follow-up is necessary in patients with EG after minor trauma.

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant foodborne Salmonella has become a major public health problem. Consumption of undercooked poultry contaminated with Salmonella can induce food poisoning in humans. In this study, we investigated the occurrence and antibiotic resistance patterns of Salmonella spp. isolated from 120 chicken carcasses produced in 6 poultry slaughterhouses in South Korea. A total of 11 samples (9.2%) were found contaminated with Salmonella: 5 isolates were serotyped as Salmonella Bellevue strain (slaughterhouse C) and 6 isolates were serotyped as Salmonella Enteritidis strain (slaughterhouse E). Salmonella Bellevue isolates were resistant to five antibiotics (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole), while Salmonella Enteritidis isolates were resistant to nine antibiotics (ampicillin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, cefazolin, cephalothin, amikacin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, and tetracycline). All cephalosporin-resistant Salmonella Enteritidis isolates exhibited the extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) phenotype and carried the gene encoding CTX-M-15, the most prevalent ESBL enzyme worldwide. Based on molecular subtyping performed using the automated rep-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system (DiversiLab), the isolates showing ≥ 95 similarity in their rep-PCR banding patterns were classified into 5 pulsotypes. Given that cephalosporins are the drugs of choice for invasive Salmonella infections, the high incidence of ESBL-producing strains in chicken should emphasize the necessity of regular monitoring of the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant ESBL-positive Salmonella strains in poultry meat.

Social influence research has flourished for more than five decades. This chapter presents a comprehensive yet selective review of social influence research, demarcated by three points in time—pre-...

Although the prevalence of community-acquired Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections is sharply increasing, the sources and likely transmission routes of this bacterium are poorly understood. We studied the significance of the presence of S. maltophilia in final effluents and receiving rivers of pig farm wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The loads and antibiotic resistance profiles of S. maltophilia in final effluents were assessed. Antibiotic resistance determinants and biofilm formation genes were detected by PCR, and genetic similarity to clinical isolates was investigated using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). S. maltophilia was recovered from final effluents at two of three farms and one corresponding receiving river. Tests of resistance to antibiotics recommended for S. maltophilia infection revealed that for each agent, at least one isolate was classified as resistant or intermediate, with the exception of minocycline. Furthermore, multidrug resistant S. maltophilia susceptible to antibiotics of only two categories was isolated and found to carry the sul2 gene, conferring trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance. All isolates carried spgM, encoding a major factor in biofilm formation. MLST revealed that isolates of the same sequence type (ST; ST189) were present in both effluent and receiving river samples, and phylogenetic analysis showed that all of the STs identified in this study clustered with clinical isolates. Moreover, one isolate (ST192) recovered in this investigation demonstrated 99.61% sequence identity with a clinical isolate (ST98) associated with a fatal infection in South Korea. Thus, the pathogenicity of the isolates reported here is likely similar to that of those from clinical environments, and WWTPs may play a role as a source of S. maltophilia from which this bacterium spreads to human communities. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first report of S. maltophilia in pig farm WWTPs. Our results indicate that nationwide epidemiological investigations are needed to examine the possible link between WWTP-derived S. maltophilia and hospital- and community-acquired infections.

Today, many complex tasks are assigned to teams, rather than individuals. One reason for teaming up is expansion of the skill coverage of each individual to the joint team skill set. However, numerous empirical studies of human groups suggest that the performance of equally skilled teams can widely differ. Two natural question arise: What are the factors defining team performance? and How can we best predict the performance of a given team on a specific task? While the team members’ task-related capabilities constrain the potential for the team’s success, the key to understanding team performance is in the analysis of the team process, encompassing the behaviors of the team members during task completion. In this study, we extend the existing body of research on team process and prediction models of team performance. Specifically, we analyze the dynamics of historical team performance over a series of tasks as well as the fine-grained patterns of collaboration between team members, and formally connect these dynamics to the team performance in the predictive models. Our major qualitative finding is that higher performing teams have well-connected collaboration networks—as indicated by the topological and spectral properties of the latter—which are more robust to perturbations, and where network processes spread more efficiently. Our major quantitative finding is that our predictive models deliver accurate team performance predictions—with a prediction error of 15-25%—on a variety of simple tasks, outperforming baseline models that do not capture the micro-level dynamics of team member behaviors. We also show how to use our models in an application, for optimal online planning of workload distribution in an organization. Our findings emphasize the importance of studying the dynamics of team collaboration as the major driver of high performance in teams.

Collective intelligence (CI), a group's capacity to perform a wide variety of tasks, is a key factor in successful collaboration. Group composition, particularly diversity and member social perceptiveness, are consistent predictors of CI, but we have limited knowledge about the mechanisms underlying their effects. To address this gap, we examine how physiological synchrony, as an indicator of coordination and rapport, relates to CI in computer-mediated teams, and if synchrony might serve as a mechanism explaining the effect of group composition on CI. We present results from a laboratory experiment where 60 dyads completed the Test of Collective Intelligence (TCI) together online and rated their group satisfaction, while wearing physiological sensors. We find that synchrony in facial expressions (indicative of shared experience) was associated with CI and synchrony in electrodermal activity (indicative of shared arousal) with group satisfaction. Furthermore, various forms of synchrony mediated the effect of member diversity and social perceptiveness on CI and group satisfaction. Our results have important implications for online collaborations and distributed teams.

In this study, Karmali agar was modified by adding tazobactam (T-Karmali agar) to suppress the growth of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli , which frequently contaminates raw poultry meat. By inoculating 30 Campylobacter spp. strains and 25 ESBL-producing E. coli strains onto Karmali agar and T-Karmali agar containing various concentrations of the antibacterial agent, we determined the optimum concentration of tazobactam to be 4 mg/liter. The Campylobacter spp. isolation rate on T-Karmali agar (13.3%) was higher than that on Karmali agar (8.3%), although the difference was not significant (P0.05). However, T-Karmali agar showed a significantly greater selectivity than Karmali agar, as evaluated by comparing the numbers of contaminated agar plates (20.8 versus 82.5%; P0.05) and the growth indexes (1.36 versus 2.83) of competing flora. The predominant competing flora on Karmali and T-Karmali agar were identified as ESBL-producing E. coli . Thus, T-Karmali agar might be effective for determining the real prevalence of Campylobacter in raw poultry and, especially, contamination with ESBL-producing E. coli .

Culture-based detection of nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. in foods requires at least four working days; therefore, new detection methods that shorten the test time are needed. In this study, we developed a novel single-step Salmonella enrichment broth, SSE-1, and compared its detection capability with that of commercial single-step ONE broth-Salmonella (OBS) medium and a conventional two-step enrichment method using buffered peptone water and Rappaport-Vassiliadis soy broth (BPW-RVS). Minimally processed lettuce samples were artificially inoculated with low levels of healthy and cold-injured Salmonella Enteritidis (100 or 101 colony-forming unit/25 g), incubated in OBS, BPW-RVS, and SSE-1 broths, and streaked on xylose lysine deoxycholate (XLD) agar. Salmonella recoverability was significantly higher in BPW-RVS (79.2%) and SSE-1 (83.3%) compared to OBS (39.3%) (p

We compared standard culture methods as well as conventional PCR and real-time PCR for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in milk, cheese, fresh-cut vegetables, and raw beef that have different levels of background microflora. No statistical differences were observed in sensitivity between the two selective media in all foods. In total, real-time PCR assay exhibited statistically excellent detection sensitivity (p

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of soy sauce on the physicochemical and textural properties of tumbled chicken breasts. Chicken breasts marinated with distilled water (Con), 4% NaCl solution, 4% NaCl and lactic acid solution (pH 4.9), and soy sauce solution (4% salt concentration and pH 4.9) were vacuum tumbled at 3°C for 60 min. The chicken breast marinated with soy sauce solution showed lower lightness and higher redness and yellowness due to the color of the soy sauce. The acidic marinades led to a decrease in pH value of tumbled chicken breast. The acidic marinades increased collagen solubility of sample compared with 4% NaCl solution, resulting in decreased shear force. Water-holding capacity, marination and cooking yields, and solubility of myofibrillar proteins were mainly affected by the presence of salt in the marinade, rather than by pH alternation. Our results suggested that soy sauce marination can improve the tenderness of tumbled chicken breast.

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify menopausal symptoms and quality of life (QOL) according to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in rural menopausal women. Methods: Menopausal symptoms and QOL were measured by questionnaires. A total of 50 participants in HRT group had received hormone replacement therapy for 12 weeks and another 50 who had not received hormone therapy were assigned to non-HRT group. Results: Vasomotor symptom score of non-HRT group was significantly higher than that of HRT group (p=.013). There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in all menopausal symptoms except for vasomotor symptom. There were no significant differences between two groups in the total scores and sub-scores of QOL. Total scores and sub-scores of QOL were very low in both group. Menopausal symptoms were significantly negatively correlated with QOL. Conclusion: These results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between HRT group and non-HRT group in menopausal symptoms except for vasomotor symptom and QOL. Menopausal symptoms were moderate and QOL was very low in menopausal women. It is necessary to develop nursing interventions to improve menopausal symptoms and QOL in menopausal women.

Organic foods have risen in popularity recently. However, the increased risk of bacterial contamination of organic foods has not been fully evaluated. In this study, 100 samples each of organic and conventional fresh vegetables (55 lettuce samples and 45 sprout samples) sold in South Korea were analyzed for aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus. Although the aerobic bacteria and coliform counts were not significantly different between the two farming types (p 0.05), the occurrence rate of B. cereus was higher in organically cultivated vegetables compared with those grown conventionally (70% vs. 30%, respectively). The mean contamination level of B. cereus-positive organic samples was also significantly higher (1.86 log colony-forming unit [CFU]/g vs. 0.69 log CFU/g, respectively) (p 0.05). In addition, six samples of organic vegetables were found to be contaminated with B. cereus at over 4 log CFU/g categorized as unsatisfactory according to Health Protection Agency guideline. The relatively higher occurrence rate of B. cereus in organic vegetables emphasizes the importance of implementing control measures in organic vegetable production and postharvest processing to reduce the risk of food poisoning.

Exponential growth of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli in Campylobacter media has become a common problem for the detection of Campylobacter in chicken meats. We investigated the minimum inhibitory concentration of 40 ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from meats obtained from various countries against antibacterial agents in Bolton broth (cefoperazone, vancomycin, and trimethoprim). All ESBL-producing E. coli strains were resistant to cefoperazone and vancomycin, whereas 50% of them were resistant to trimethoprim and grew in Bolton broth. We found that 20 μg/mL of rifampicin inhibited the growth of trimethoprim-resistant E. coli strains. Hence, we added 20 μg/mL of rifampicin to Bolton broth to improve the isolation of Campylobacter from chicken carcass rinses. The isolation rate of Campylobacter was significantly higher in the modified broth (44 out of 58, 75.9%, P0.05) than in the normal broth (0 out of 58, 0%). Furthermore, the number of agar plates with non-Campylobacter spp. was much lower after enrichment in the modified broth (4 out of 58, 6.9%, P0.05) than in the normal broth (58 out of 58, 100%).

Overgrowth of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) on Campylobacter media prevents the latter's selective isolation, thereby making the improvement of Campylobacter-selective media necessary. We evaluated tazobactam (an ESBL inhibitor) to supplement Bolton enrichment broth (Tz-Bolton broth) for the selective isolation of Campylobacter in chicken carcass rinses. First, using 20 strains of ESBL-producing E. coli and 13 Campylobacter strains, we found 4 μg/mL of tazobactam to be optimal for inhibiting the ESBL-producing E. coli while allowing the growth of all tested Campylobacter strains. Next, 80 whole chicken carcasses were rinsed with buffered peptone water (BPW), and 25 mL of BPW rinse was mixed with 2 × blood-free Bolton broth (25 mL) with or without tazobactam followed by incubation at 42°C for 48 h under microaerobic conditions. A loopful of the incubated broth was inoculated on modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) and microaerobically incubated at 42°C for 48 h. The tazobactam supplemented Bolton broth showed a higher Campylobacter isolation rate (38.8%, p0.05) than normal Bolton broth (15%). Moreover, the number of mCCDA plates with non-Campylobacter was much lower (p0.05) after enrichment in Tz-Bolton broth (0%) than in the normal Bolton broth (80%), suggesting that selectivity of the modified broth was superior to normal Bolton broth.

Overgrowth of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli on modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) is the most common confounding factor for the isolation of Campylobacter from poultry samples. mCCDA modified by supplementation with tazobactam, an ESBL inhibitor, was evaluated for Campylobacter isolation from chicken carcass rinse with regard to isolation rate and selectivity. In total, 120 whole chicken carcasses purchased from retail stores were rinsed with buffered peptone water enriched with 2× blood-free Bolton broth at 42°C for 48 h and then inoculated onto mCCDA with and without tazobactam supplementation (mCCDA or T-mCCDA) at 42°C for 48 h under microaerobic conditions. Suspect colonies were subcultured and confirmed by colony PCR. Plates with tazobactam exhibited a higher Campylobacter isolation rate (56.7% vs. 30.8%, p 0.05) and selectivity (0.8 vs. 83.3% plates contaminated with non-Campylobacter, p 0.05) than mCCDA. Thus, tazobactam-supplemented mCCDA would be a useful option for qualitative detection of Campylobacter in chicken carcass rinse.

Multicultural globally-dispersed virtual teams (MGVTs) have become an integral part of many global organizations. Geographical dispersion, cultural diversity and dependence on technology to communicate place many challenges to the effective work in MGVTs. In this paper we suggest to integrate the research literature which identified psychological safety as an important factor that enables MGVTs’ effective performance, together with the emerging literature on co-located homogeneous teams that shows that collective intelligence (CI) can explain team’s performance on a wide variety of tasks. We suggest that due to the importance of psychological safety in MGVTs, only teams with high psychological safety will be able to translate their high collective intelligence into better task performance. Our results supported our hypothesis, demonstrating that collective intelligence enabled better performance in MGVTs with high psychological safety.

PURPOSES : This study is to develop ISM for potential risk factor in School Zone. METHODS : Based on the literature review, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used most widely. However, it is difficult to apply in practice because the AHP results have the characteristics of the independence between each element and the interlayer can not explain the interrelationship. The Network Analysis Process (ANP) is possible to analyze the relationship between the elements and the network through the feedback. But, the reliability of the analysis fall because of complicated pair of comparison, also it is difficult to solve the super matrix. In this study, the complicated relationship between each element is inquired through the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM). RESULTS : The methodology of ISM is developed to remove the children`s potential risk factors in school zone. CONCLUSIONS : It is possible to remove the children`s potential risk factors from low level to high level step by step and improve safety. Through this, risk factors can be removed from the low-level, and upper-level will automatically improve.

We evaluated the effectiveness of 2 selective enrichment broths, Rappaport-Vassiliadis Soy (RVS) and Muller-Kauffmann tetrathionate with novobiocin (MKTTn), for the isolation of Salmonella from chicken carcasses obtained from 3 different types of retail markets. We also compared a chromogenic agar, chromID Salmonella agar (SM-ID 2), with a classic plating medium, xylose lysine deoxycholate agar (XLD). Salmonella were isolated from 118 of the 180 samples (65.5%). Salmonella were detected in 105 samples (88%) plated on XLD and 111 samples (94%) plated on SM-ID 2 when RVS broth was used for enrichment, and 43 samples (36.4%) plated on XLD and 67 samples (56.8%) plated on SM-ID 2 when the MKTTn broth was used. The highest sensitivity was found in the RVS-XLD combination (0.99), followed by RVS-SM-ID 2 (0.97). The specificity of the RVS-SM-ID 2 combination was the highest (0.89), but that of the MKTTn-XLD combination was zero. The results of this study indicate that the selective enrichment broths had a great effect on the sensitivity and specificity of plating media, and our study confirms that the RVS broth is the most suitable enrichment for the investigation of Salmonella in chicken carcasses. This observation suggests that use of RVS broth for selective enrichment and SM-ID 2 for selective isolation may be the best combination to determine the presence of Salmonella in chicken carcasses.

We design and implement an efficient storage technique to improve query processing for a large RDF data set. The proposed techniques can minimize data redundancy compared to the existing techniques by splitting relation information and data information from triple formatted RDF data. Also, we can enhance query processing speed separating and connecting the entire query steps by relation and data based on the proposed storage technique. The proposed technique can be applied to the areas, such as e-Commerce, semantic web, and KMS to store and retrieve a large RDF data set.

In this study, a new method to estimate the bridge deflection is developed by using Wireless Tilt Sensor. Most of evaluations of structural integrity, it is very important to measure the geometric profile, which is a major factor representing the global behavior of civil structure, especially bridges. In the past, Because of the lack of appropriate methods to measure the deflection curve of bridges on site, the measurement of deflection had been done restrictly within just a few discrete points along the bridge. Also the measurement point could be limited to locations installed with displacement transducers. So, in this study, the deflection of the structure was measured by wireless tilt sensor instead of LVDT(Linear Variable Differential Transformer). Angle change of tilt sensor shows structural behavior by the change of the resistor values which is presented to voltage. Moreover, the maximum deflection was calculated by changing the deflection angle which was calculated as V(measured voltage) F(factor) to deflection. The experimental tests were carried out to verify the developed deflection estimation techniques. Because the base of tilt measuring is the gravity, uniform measurement is possible independent of a measuring point. Also, measuring values were showed very high accuracy.

Supplementation effect of fish oil and/or fumarate on production of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and methane by rumen microbes was examined when incubated with safflower oil. One hundred and twenty milligrams of safflower oil (SO), safflower oil with 24 mg fish oil (SOFO), safflower oil with 24 mmol/L fumarate (SOFA), or safflower oil with 24 mg fish oil and 24 mmol/L fumarate (SOFOFA) were added to the 90 mL culture solution. The culture solution was also made without any supplements (control). The SOFA and SOFOFA increased pH and propionate (C3) compared to other treatments from 3 h incubation time. An accumulated amount of total methane (CH(4) ) for 12 h incubation was decreased by all the supplements compared to control. The concentrations of c9,t11CLA for all the incubation times were increased in the treatments of SOFO, SOFA and SOFOFA compared to SO. The highest concentration of c9,t11CLA was observed from SOFOFA among all the treatments at all incubation times. Overall data indicate that supplementation of combined fumarate and/or fish oil when incubated with safflower oil could depress CH(4) generation and increase production of C(3) and CLA under the condition of current in vitro study.

Vitellogenin (Vg) is the precursor of vitellin (Vn), which is the major yolk protein in nearly all oviparous species, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, and most invertebrates. It is one of the most important factors during reproduction, and numerous studies have shown that Vg genes are markers of the reproductive cycle and effecter genes induced by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Previously, we isolated two distinct cDNAs encoding vitellogenin homologs Pj-Vg1 and Pj-Vg2 from Pandalus shrimp Pandalopsis japonica. In this study, full-length genomic sequences of Pj-Vg1 and Pj-Vg2 were determined using a PCR-based genome walking strategy. Isolated Pj-Vg1 and Pj-Vg2 genes were 11,910 and 11,850 bp long, respectively. Both Pj-Vg genes had 15 exons and 14 introns, and the splicing sites were also the same, suggesting that they arose via gene duplication. The similar structural characteristics of decapod Vg genes suggest that they are all orthologs that evolved from the same ancestral gene. Analysis of Pj-Vg1 and Pj-Vg2 expression revealed that the relative copy numbers of Pj-Vg1 and Pj-Vg2 were similar in the hepatopancreas, whereas Pj-Vg2 transcripts were also detected in the ovary. Expression of both Pj-Vg genes was induced in hepatopancreas of mature individuals, whereas only Pj-Vg2 transcripts were upregulated in the ovaries from mature animals, suggesting that both Pj-Vgs are important for oocyte development. A strong positive correlation was found between Pj-Vg1 and Pj-Vg2 transcripts in the same individual, indicating they are under the same control mechanisms. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between ovarian and hepatopancreatic Pj-Vg2 transcripts, suggesting that its dual expression is regulated by similar physiological conditions. Knowledge of the similarities and differences between the two vitellogenin-like genes, Pj-Vg1 and Pj-Vg2, would help us to understand their roles in reproduction and other physiological effects.

Myostatin is one of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β family members and plays inhibitory roles in the development and growth of muscle in mammals. Mammalian myostatins have been studied intensively, considering its medical and industrial potential use. Still, limited information is available about myostatin homologues in crustaceans. In the present study, we isolated for the first time cDNA that encodes for myostatin-like protein (Pj-MSTN) from Morotoge shrimp, Pandalopsis japonica. The putative mature peptide of Pj-MSTN was composed of 109 amino acids, which contains an additional amino acid residue compared with mammalian myostatins. Pj-MSTN exhibited 32% amino acid sequence identity and 52% similarity to human myostatin. Multiple sequence alignment analysis indicated that Pj-MSTN shared the conserved proteolytic cleavage site (RXXR) for its maturation and nine cysteine residues for disulphide bridges. These results suggest that Pj-MSTN has conserved the three-dimensional structure of TGF-β family members in vertebrates. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Pj-MSTN is a primitive form of vertebrate myostatin and GDF11. The expression of Pj-MSTN was not just identified in muscular tissues, suggesting that Pj-MSTN functions differently from mammalian myostatin. Ablation of the X-organ/sinus gland complex significantly reduced the expression of Pj-MSTN in most tissues, suggesting its potential association with moulting.

Collective intelligence (CI) is a property of groups that emerges from the coordination and collaboration of members and predicts group performance on a wide range of tasks. Previous studies of CI have been conducted with lab-based groups in the USA. We introduce a new standardized online battery to measure CI and demonstrate consistent emergence of a CI factor across three different studies despite broad differences in (a) communication media (face-to-face vs online), (b) group contexts (short-term ad hoc groups vs long-term groups) and (c) cultural settings (US, Germany, and Japan). In two of the studies, we also show that CI is correlated with a group's performance on more complex tasks. Consequently, the CI metric provides a generalizable performance measure for groups that is robust to broad changes in media, context, and culture, making it useful for testing the effects of general-purpose collaboration technologies intended to improve group performance.

This paper derives joint and conditional Lagrange multiplier tests based on Double-Length Artificial Regression(DLR) for testing functional form and/or the presence of individual(time) effect in a panel regression model. Small sample properties of these tests are assessed by Monte Carlo study, and comparisons are made with LM tests based on Outer Product Gradient(OPG). The results show that the proposed DLR based LM tests have the most appropriate finite sample performance.

1. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is known to induce the expression of CCL11 and CCR3 via the activation of NF-kappaB. CCL11 (eotaxin), the C-C chemokine, is a potent chemoattractant for eosinophils and Th2 lymphocytes, and CCR3 is the receptor for CCL11. 2. In order to determine the effects of rosmarinic acid on the TNF-alpha-induced upregulation of CCL11 and CCR3 in human dermal fibroblasts, we performed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for CCL11 and a Western blot assay for CCR3. The TNF-alpha-induced expression of CCL11 and CCR3 genes was attenuated by rosmarinic acid. 3. In our NF-kappaB luciferase reporter system, TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappaB activation was observed to be reduced by rosmarinic acid. In accordance with this result, rosmarinic acid also inhibited TNF-alpha-induced phosphorylation and degradation of IkappaB-alpha, as well as nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB heterodimer induced by TNF-alpha. This suggests that rosmarinic acid downregulates the expression of CCL11 and CCR3 via the inhibition of NF-kappaB activation signaling. 4. Using the NF-kappaB luciferase reporter system, Western blot analysis, and IKK-beta activity assay, we determined that rosmarinic acid inhibits IKK-beta activity in NF-kappaB signaling, which upregulates the expression of CCL11 and CCR3. Additionally, TNF-alpha-induced secretion of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 molecules was found to be attenuated by rosmarinic acid. 5. Our results show that rosmarinic acid inhibits the expression of CCL11 and CCR3 by suppressing the IKK-beta activity in NF-kappaB activation signaling. Further, these results suggest that rosmarinic acid might inhibit the expression of NF-kappaB promoter-related genes.

Curcuma species are medicinal herbs with various pharmacological activities. They have a characteristic yellow color and contain curcuminoids which are natural antioxidants. In this study, Curcuma aromatica (CA) and Curcuma longa (CL) extracts were gamma-irradiated for improving the color, and the irradiation effects on the curcuminoids contents in CA and CL extracts were determined in order to evaluate if CA can replace CL on the market, where the price of CA is 70% lower than the price of CL. The Hunter color L *-values were increased significantly in all the samples with increasing dose, while the a *-values and b *-values decreased, which implies that the color of the CA and CL extracts changed from dark yellow to brighter yellow. Curcuminoids contents of all the samples were evaluated, and CA contains more curcuminoids than CL. These results indicated that irradiation improved the properties of CA for possible industrial use in manufacturing food and cosmetic industrial products.

We design and implement a new case-based recommender system using implicit rating information for a digital content site. Our system consists of the User Profile Generation module, the Similarity Evaluation and Recommendation module, and the Personalized Mailing module. In the User Profile Generation Module, we define intra-attribute and inter-attribute weight deriver from own`s past interests of a user stored in the access logs to extract individual preferences for a content. A new similarity function is presented in the Similarity Evaluation and Recommendation Module to estimate similarities between new items set and the user profile. The Personalized Mailing Module sends individual recommended mails that are transformed into platform-independent XML document format to users. To verify the efficiency of our system, we have performed experimental comparisons between the proposed model and the collaborative filtering technique by mean absolute error (MAE) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) values. The results show that the proposed model is more efficient than the traditional collaborative filtering technique.

The objective of this investigation was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetables. A total of 189 RTE vegetable samples (91 sprouts and 98 mixed salads) were collected in a retail market in South Korea from October 2012 to February 2013. The prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae was 10.1%. Of these, 94.7% were from the sprout samples. All isolates were resistant to cefotaxime, and many of the ESBL producers were also resistant to non-β-lactam antibiotics, including gentamicin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and ciprofloxacin (73.7%, 63.2%, and 26.3% respectively). TEM-1, SHV-1, -2, -11, -12, -27, -28 and -61, and CTX-M-14, -15 and -55 β-lactamases were detected alone or in combination. The genetic platforms of all CTX-M producing isolates were ISEcp1-blaCTX-M-orf477 and ISEcp1-blaCTX-M-IS903 in CTX-M groups 1 and 9, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the prevalence and characterization of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolated from RTE vegetables. The results of this study indicate that RTE vegetables, sprouts, in particular, may play a role in spreading antimicrobial resistant bacteria and ESBL genes to humans.

The ideal immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) model was employed to investigate the effect of operating parameters change on the displacement separation of biomolecules. By combining a lower initial mobile phase modifier (MPM) concentration and a higher final MPM concentration, the displacement chromatographic separation produced both higher concentration of feeds and better throughput in IMAC displacement separating systems.

We compared Bolton enrichment broth supplemented with antimicrobial triclosan (T-Bolton broth) and normal Bolton broth for the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) and Campylobacter coli (C. coli) from chicken carcass rinse. Whole chickens were rinsed with buffered peptone water prior to enrichment in normal Bolton broth or T-Bolton broth, followed by inoculation onto modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA). Suspect colonies were confirmed by PCR. We observed a significantly higher number of C. jejuni or C. coli-positive samples in the T-Bolton broth (71.3%) than in the normal Bolton broth (27.5%) (p0.05). Furthermore, the number of contaminated mCCDA plates was lower after enrichment in T-Bolton broth (3.8%) than in the normal Bolton broth (75%) (p0.05), indicating that T-Bolton broth has higher selectivity. Finally, we identified extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli as the predominant competing flora in normal Bolton broth. In conclusion, the use of T-Bolton broth results in significant elimination of competing bacteria.