• Title/Summary/Keyword: Fecal characteristics

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Discharge Characteristics of Indicator Microorganisms from Agricultural-Forestry Watersheds (농지-임야에서 발생하는 지표미생물 유출 특성)

  • Kim, Geonha
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.28 no.1B
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    • pp.153-160
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    • 2008
  • To estimate microbial contaminant loading discharged from diffuse sources, rainfall runoff of six rainfall events were monitored at three study watersheds of forestry and agricultural land use. Monitored indicator microorganism constituents were total coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC), Escherichia coli (EC), and fecal streptococcus (FS). Soil loss during elevated flow rate caused higher suspended solid concentrations. Indicator microorganism concentrations were closely related with flow rate. TC event mean concentration (EMC) from unpolluted forestry was $5.3{\times}10^3CFU/100ml$, FC EMC was $1.4{\times}10^3CFU/100ml$, EC EMC was $1.1{\times}10^3CFU/100ml$, and FS EMC was $2.9{\times}10^2CFU/100ml$. From a watershed with agricultural-forestry land use, TC EMC was $1.7{\times}10^5CFU/100ml$, FC EMC was $8.5{\times}10^4CFU/100ml$, EC EMC was $8.9{\times}10^4CFU/100ml$, and FS EMC was $3.4{\times}10^4CFU/100ml$. Mixed land use of agricultural-forestry with bigger area, TC EMC was $1.9{\times}10^5CFU/100ml$, FC EMC was $9.6{\times}10^4CFU/100ml$, EC EMC was $7.0{\times}10^4CFU/100ml$, and FS EMC was $5.1{\times}10^4CFU/100ml$.

Factors Impacting the Physical Function of Older Adults in Korean Long-Term Care Hospitals

  • Lee, Ji-Yun;Kim, Eun-Young;Cho, Eun-Hee
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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    • v.41 no.6
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    • pp.780-787
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    • 2011
  • Purpose: This study was conducted to examine activities of daily living (ADL) of older adults admitted to Korean long-term care hospitals (LTCHs), and to explore the patient and organizational factors that have an impact on the ADL of this population. Methods: A secondary analysis of the Korean minimum data set (K-MDS) of patients (N=14,369) and of the profiles of LTCHs (N=358) from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service was done between January and July 2008. The outcome variable was ADL score 6 months after baseline assessment. Multi-level linear regression was employed to explore the patient and organizational factors that affected ADL scores. Results: Of the patients, 45.4% had a baseline ADL score of between 31 and 40, with a score of 40 indicating that the patient was entirely dependent for all items. None of the organizational characteristics were significantly associated with effects on the ADLs of older adults who had been in a LTHC for at least 6 months. However, patient characteristics, such as age, baseline ADL, frequency of physical therapy, urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pressure ulcers, and having a tube or catheter, were significantly associated with ADL 6 months after baseline. Conclusion: In order to maintain and improve the ADL of older adults in LTCHs, we should develop strategies to prevent urinary and fecal incontinence, pressure ulcers, unnecessary tubes or catheters, providing adequate physical therapy. Additional studies should include more detailed information regarding nursing staff, including RN hours for direct care, education level and turnover.

Molecular Characteristics of Human Noroviruses Genogroup I and Genogroup II Detected in Acute Gastroenteritis Patients in Seoul (급성위장관염 환자에서 검출된 노로 바이러스 Genogroup-I과 Genogroup-II의 분자생물학적 특성)

  • Ham, Hee-Jin;Oh, Se-Ah;Kim, Chang-Kyu;Jang, Jung-Im;Jo, Suk-Ju;Choi, Sung-Min
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.57-65
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    • 2012
  • Objectives: For our survey of the incidence of norovirus infections and the genogroup distribution of norovirus in Seoul, Republic of Korea, we evaluated through regular surveillance the prevalence of norovirus infections in patients with acute gastroenteritis occurring in Seoul from January 2007 to July 2011. Methods: For norovirus detection, we conducted epidemiological analyses on the basis of the junction of ORF1 and ORF2 (approximately 314 bp). 11,202 fecal specimens were collected from patients in Seoul with acute gastroenteritis between January 2007 and July 2011 and then tested for the presence of NoV via reverse transcription (RT) - polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: 16.6% (1,861/11,202) of the fecal specimens were determined to be positive for noroviruses. The incidences of norovirus infection in Seoul in the case of acute gastroenteritis with regular surveillance were 28.0% in 2007, 14.6% in 2008, 9.1% in 2009, 14.1% in 2010, and 12.9% in 2011, which shows that noroviruses constituted a major causative agent of acute gastroenteritis. Also, the incidence of noroviral infection in patients with acute gastroenteritis increased after the large-scale new influenza in 2009. Conclusions: The genetic characteristics of norovirus and the epidemiologic patterns of a viral pathogen in acute gastroenteritis patients may provide potentially effective data for epidemiological studies in Seoul, Korea.

Evaluation of rapeseed meal as a protein source to replace soybean meal in growing pigs

  • Kim, Jong Keun;Lei, Xin Jian;Lee, Sang In;Lee, Il Seok;Kim, In Ho
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.44 no.2
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    • pp.235-243
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    • 2017
  • A total of 112 crossbred pigs [(Yorkshire ${\times}$ Landrace) ${\times}$ Duroc] with an average body weight (BW) of $27.98{\pm}1.28kg$ were used to evaluate the effects of replacing soybean meal (SBM) with rapeseed meal (RSM) as a source of protein on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, and fecal noxious gas emission in growing pigs. The pigs were blocked and stratified based on BW into one of four dietary treatments in a 6-week trial. Each treatment consisted of 7 replicate pens with 4 pigs per pen (2 barrows and 2 gilts). Treatments were 1) maize-SBM based diet, 2) diet containing 2% RSM, 3) diet containing 4% RSM, and 4) diet containing 6% RSM. Supplementation with RSM resulted in no differences in growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and noxious gas emission, as compared with SBM supplementation during the experimental period (p > 0.05). Pigs fed with increased dietary RSM (0, 2, 4, and 6% of feed) had linear decreases in average daily gain (ADG) (p = 0.010) and nitrogen digestibility (p = 0.036) and a linear increase in blood creatinine concentration. In conclusion, RSM fed pigs had no detrimental effects on their growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, and fecal noxious gas emissions, as compared with SBM fed pigs. Thus, RSM is a good alternative to SBM as a protein source in growing pigs' diets.

Effects of Sea Tangle Extract and Sea Tangle Yogurt on Constipation Relief (다시마와 다시마 요구르트의 변비해소 효과)

  • Kim, Hyun-Jin;Kim, Soon-Im;Han, Young-Sil
    • Korean journal of food and cookery science
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.59-67
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    • 2008
  • In an effort to make a functional and stable yogurt, this study investigated the improvement effects of sea tangle extract and sea tangle yogurt on intestinal function. The intestinal improvement effect of the extract was measured by the charcoal meal transit method, employing Balb/C mice. And constipation relief was compared utilizing the loperamide-induced constipation method, employing SD rats. Charcoal meal transit was remarkably increased in the mice receiving sea tangle extract as compared to the controls. The constipation relief effects of the sea tangle and sea tangle yogurt were evaluated by measuring fecal amounts in the rats after adding them to water. The fecal contents increased remarkably in the sea tangle administered rat groups as compared to the control group. In addition, different yogurt samples were used to evaluate the characteristics of the sea tangle yogurt. During storage, pH slightly decreased in the yogurt with sea tangle as well as without. At the same time, acidity slowly increased as the storage duration increased. As time elapsed, the amounts of viable cells increased in both yogurts (with and without sea tangle). In the sensory evaluation, significant differences were shown between the sea tangle yogurt and the control for color, flavor, sweetness, and overall quality. Overall, based on the combined results of the intestinal function effects and sensory evaluation, the 0.25% sea tangle yogurt proved to be superior.

Impact of phase feeding: effects on the growth performance of sows and their litter characteristics

  • Sureshkumar, Shanmugam;Kim, In Ho
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.48 no.2
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    • pp.265-272
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    • 2021
  • A total of fourteen primiparous sows' (Landrace × Yorkshire) were used to determine the effects of two patterns of feed intake during early gestation on the growth performance and litter characteristics in sows. Daily feed intake from day 5 to 112 of gestation for parity 1 sows was 2.2 kg·d-1 of feed offered with the exception of seven sows who were offered 3.2 kg·d-1 from day 90 to 108 of gestation (TRT A) or 2.5 kg·d-1 (d 5 - 60) and 2 kg·d-1 (d 60 - 90) of feed with the exception of seven sows who were offered 3.5 kg·d-1 from day 90 to 108 of gestation (TRT B). The different feed intake patterns in early gestation did not have a significant effect on body weight, backfat thickness, or body condition score during, before, and after farrowing (p > 0.05) respectively. However, initial to d 60, backfat thickness difference was significantly improved by TRT B patterns of feed intake during early gestation. In addition, during the overall experiment, average daily feed intake was significantly enhanced for sows in the dietary TRT B group feed intake pattern (p = 0.0001). The fecal score during day 90 was significantly reduced (p = 0.0132) in sows fed with TRT B feed intake pattern. Litter size, litter survival rate, and initial weight showed no significant differences with different feed efficiency of gestating sows. In summary, the results indicate that the 2.5 kg·d-1 gestation intake pattern allowed gestating sows to obtain optimal performance.

Diversity and Antimicrobial Activity of Actinomycetes from Fecal Sample of Rhinoceros Beetle Larvae (장수풍뎅이 유충의 분변에 존재하는 방선균의 다양성 및 항균활성)

  • Lee, Hye-Won;Ahn, Jae-Hyung;Kim, Minwook;Weon, Hang-Yeon;Song, Jaekyeong;Lee, Sung-Jae;Kim, Byung-Yong
    • Korean Journal of Microbiology
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    • v.49 no.2
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    • pp.156-164
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    • 2013
  • Actinomycetes produce diverse secondary metabolites which have the primary importance in medicine, agriculture and food production, and key to this is their ability to interact with other organisms in natural habitats. In this study, we have investigated the taxonomical and functional diversity of actinomycetes in fecal sample of rhinoceros beetle larvae (Allomyrina dichotoma L.) by using culture-dependent and -independent approaches. For the culture-independent approach, the community DNA was extracted from the sample and 16S rRNA genes of actinomycetes were amplified using actinomycetes-specific PCR primers. Thirty-seven clones were classified into 15 genera and 24 species of actinomycetes. For the culture-dependent approach, 53 strains were isolated from larval feces, of which 27 isolates were selected based on morphological characteristics. The isolates were classified into 4 genera and 14 species, and 24 isolates (89%) were identified as the genus Streptomyces. Many of the representative isolates had antimicrobial activities against plant pathogenic fungi and Gram-positive bacteria. In addition, most of the isolates (78%) showed biochemical properties to hydrolyze cellulose and casein. The results demonstrated that diverse and valuable actinomycetes could be isolated from insect fecal samples, indicating that insect guts can be rich sources for novel bioactive compounds.

Effect of Inorganic and Organic Trace Mineral Supplementation on the Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Fecal Mineral Excretion of Phase-fed, Grow-finish Swine

  • Burkett, J.L.;Stalder, K.J.;Powers, W.J.;Bregendahl, K.;Pierce, J.L.;Baas, T.J.;Bailey, T.;Shafer, B.L.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.22 no.9
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    • pp.1279-1287
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    • 2009
  • Concentrated livestock production has led to soil nutrient accumulation concerns. To reduce the environmental impact, it is necessary to understand current recommended livestock feeding practices. Two experiments were conducted to compare the effects of trace mineral supplementation on performance, carcass composition, and fecal mineral excretion of phase-fed, grow-finish pigs. Crossbred pigs (Experiment 1 (Exp. 1), (n = 528); Experiment 2 (Exp. 2), (n = 560)) were housed in totally-slatted, confinement barns, blocked by weight, penned by sex, and randomly assigned to pens at approximately 18 kg BW. Treatments were allocated in a randomized complete block design (12 replicate pens per treatment) with 9 to 12 pigs per pen throughout the grow-finish period. In Exp. 1, the control diet (Io100) contained Cu as $CuSO_{4}$, Fe as $FeSO_{4}$, and Zn (of which 25% was ZnO and 75% was $ZnO_{4}$) at concentrations of 63 and 378 mg/kg, respectively. Treatment 2 (O100) contained supplemental Cu, Fe, and Zn from organic sources (Bioplex, Alltech Inc., Nicholasville, KY) at concentrations of 19, 131, and 91 mg/kg, respectively, which are the commercially recommended dietary inclusion levels for these organic trace minerals. Organic Cu, Fe, and Zn concentrations from O100 were reduced by 25% and 50% to form treatments 3 (O75) and 4 (O50-1), respectively. In Exp. 2, treatment 5 (Io25) contained 25% of the Cu, Fe, and Zn (inorganic sources) concentrations found in Io100. Treatment 6 (O50-2) was identical to the O50-1 diet from Exp. 1. Treatment 7 (O25) contained the experimental microminerals reduced by 75% from concentrations found in O100. Treatment 8 (O0) contained no trace mineral supplementation and served as a negative control for Exp. 2. In Exp. 1, tenth-rib backfat, loin muscle area and ADG did not differ (p>0.05) between treatments. Pigs fed the control diet (Io100) consumed less feed (p<0.01) compared to pigs fed diets containing organic trace minerals, thus, G:F was greater (p = 0.03). In Exp. 2, there were no differences among treatment means for loin muscle area, but pigs fed the reduced organic trace mineral diets consumed less (p<0.05) feed and tended (p = 0.10) to have less tenth-rib backfat compared to pigs fed the reduced inorganic trace mineral diet. Considering that performance and feed intake of pigs was not affected by lower dietary trace mineral inclusion, mineral excretion could be reduced during the grow-finish phase by reducing dietary trace mineral concentration.

A Study on the Stress and the Health Status of Newspaper Employees (신문사 근로자들의 스트레스와 건강상태에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Jin-Hee
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.41-54
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    • 2001
  • This study was designed to assess the relationship between occupational stress and health status in a study group of 197 workers employed in four newspaper publishing companies, using a self-adminstrative questionnaire. The types of occupation of them were reporters(79), clerical workers(54), and engineers (64). The studies on workers' health have been focused mainly on the physical, chemical, and biological diseases in our country. Therefore, the study of mental health, especially of occupational stress, is to be carried out. I consider stress as a factor having an effect on the health status of the newspaper employees, who have been well known to have high stress due to time pressures. I expect that this research will be helpful not only for understanding of health status by occupation, but also for making clear the issues that have been raised continuously from the previous researches. The results of this study are as follows; 1. The mean values of stress by occupation were statistically significant; the reporters had the highest stress symptom scores, and the engineers had the lowest levels of stress. The mean values of stress symptoms were higher in the workers who had long working hours. 2. The health status by occupation showed significant differences in gastrointestinal systems and in depression. The clerical workers were healthier than the engineers in gastrointestinal systems, and the reporters were more depressed than the engineers in depression. 3. The health status by the general characteristics, there was a statistical significance as for a gender, marital status, and absenteeism in the gastrointestinal systems. The men, the married, and the workers who had not been absent were more healthy. Only absenteeism had an effect on the problems in optical-dermal systems and in oro-fecal systems. Gender, marital status, absenteeism, and working hours were related with health status : the men. the married, the workers who had not been absent, and the workers who had longer working hours were more healthy. In mental stability, gender had a significant effect : the men were more healthy than the women. In general condition, the men, the older, the married, and the workers who had not been absent were more healthy. 4. Stress level had an effect on the health status in the respiratory systems, optical-dermal systems, oro-fecal system, depression, mental stability, general condition, and health condition. The workers who perceived more stress had more problems in their health status. 5. In the results of the multiple regression analyses, age in the respiratory systems, absenteeism in the optical-dermal systems, occupation and absenteeism in the gastrointestinal systems and in the oro-fecal systems, gender in depression and in mental stability, gender, age, absenteeism, and working hours in the general condition, absenteeism in the health condition had an effect on the health status of the workers.

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Prevalence, Associated Risk Factors, and Phylogenetic Analysis of Toxocara vitulorum Infection in Yaks on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau, China

  • Li, Kun;Lan, Yanfang;Luo, Houqiang;Zhang, Hui;Liu, Dongyu;Zhang, Lihong;Gui, Rui;Wang, Lei;Shahzad, Muhammad;Sizhu, Suolang;Li, Jiakui;Chamba, Yangzom
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.54 no.5
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    • pp.645-652
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    • 2016
  • Toxocara vitulorum has been rarely reported in yaks at high altitudes and remote areas of Sichuan Province of Tibetan Plateau of China. The current study was designed to investigate the prevalence, associated risk factors, and phylogenetic characteristics of T. vitulorum in yak calves on the Qinghai Tibetan plateau. Fecal samples were collected from 891 yak calves and were examined for the presence of T. vitulorum eggs by the McMaster technique. A multivariable logistic regression model was employed to explore variables potentially associated with exposure to T. vitulorum infection. T. vitulorum specimens were collected from the feces of yaks in Hongyuan of Sichuan Province, China. DNA was extracted from ascaris. After PCR amplification, the sequencing of ND1 gene was carried out and phylogenetic analyses was performed by MEGA 6.0 software. The results showed that 64 (20.1%; 95% CI 15.8-24.9%), 75 (17.2; 13.8-21.1), 29 (40.9; 29.3-53.2), and 5 (7.6; 2.5-16.8) yak calves were detected out to excrete T. vitulorum eggs in yak calve feces in Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, and Gansu, respectively. The present study revealed that high infection and mortality by T. vitulorum is wildly spread on the Qinghai Tibetan plateau, China by fecal examination. Geographical origin, ages, and fecal consistencies are the risk factors associated with T. vitulorum prevalence by logistic regression analysis. Molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of ND1 gene of T. vitulorum indicated that T. vitulorum in the yak calves on the Qinghai Tibetan plateau are homologous to preveiously studies reported.