Suchergebnisse

This study was designed to explore the learning mechanism and its treasures within an undocumented migrant workers' voluntary community in Korea. Based on a qualitative case study, major findings suggest that various modes of learning mechanisms acted as crucial foundations of the community's diverse learning paths and participants' social engagement. Four mechanisms steered the community towards a sustainable learning environment: constructiveness, communicativeness, collective autonomy and practicality. Through these, unauthorized migrants were able to have their "voices" heard in the wider society. These learning treasures have implications for both theory and practice, and for empowering underprivileged groups. They could also widen the horizon of understanding human learning in an informal learning context.

Foodborne bacteria are typically present at very low concentrations in food. This study describes a quick and simple method for concentrating E. coli O157:H7 present in lettuce and cabbage, without microbial enrichment culture. This method involved reducing the extraction buffer and DNA elution volumes. The extraction buffer volume was adjusted to 225, 100, 50, 25, and 12.5 mL to isolate E. coli O157:H7 from 25 g of lettuce or cabbage. DNA was concentrated and compared using real-time PCR. When using 12.5 mL of buffer, < 4 CFU/g of E. coli O157:H7 could be detected within 2 h without enrichment. This result is 100-fold sensitive than pretreatment with of the conventional method using 225 mL. It is suggested that this method could contribute to the prevention of food poisoning accidents in institutional catering settings, such as schools or military facilities, by the rapid and sensitive detection of pathogens without special equipment prior to food consumption stages.

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of use of a novel uterine fibroid treatment device hypothesized to cause fibroid infarction by increasing intra-tumoral pressure. Between August 2019 and January 2020, 21 uterine fibroids were treated in 16 symptomatic pre-menopausal black women. Pelvic magnetic resonance imaging was performed before the procedure, a day after the procedure and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. The subjects were also followed for clinical outcomes and quality of life up to 12 months at a single investigational site. At 3 months, the mean reduction in the fibroid volume was 36.3% (P = .002). Incremental reduction in volume peaked at the end of the follow-up, at the 12-month mark (60.4%; P = .008). There were no procedures in which the users failed to perform laparoscopic pressure suturing of fibroids with the pressure-induced fibroid ischemia device. Improvement in the quality of life was evident in the Health-Related Quality of Life total, Energy/Mood, Control, and Sexual Function domains of the Uterine Fibroid Symptom and Quality of Life questionnaire at 3 months post-procedure. Unanticipated risks were not identified. Serious adverse events were not identified. The initial clinical assessment of the pressure-induced fibroid ischemia device supports feasibility of the approach and does not reveal serious safety concerns. Trial is currently being registered retrospectively (This was a feasibility study and therefore registration was not mandatory).

Our recent work suggested that early infusion of nitrite might represent a novel therapeutic approach for acute ischemic stroke. In this study, we sought to examine the therapeutic time window of nitrite in an experimental stroke model, and to develop combined strategies for augmenting its protective effects. Nitrite was infused at various times after ischemia to rats subjected to transient or permanent focal ischemia. Nitrite was infused with memantine to prevent the potential toxicity. Infarct volumes, functional outcomes, microhypoxic areas, and oxidative stress were measured. Nitrite reduced the infarction volume and enhanced functional recovery when administered within 3 and 1.5h in the transient and permanent model, respectively. Combined therapy with nitrite and memantine prolonged the time window up to 4.5h. The potential oxidative toxicities of nitrite were significantly inhibited by memantine. The combination therapy of nitrite and memantine may be a feasible therapeutic approach for acute ischemic stroke. ; This study was supported by a Korean Research Foundation grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD, Basic Research Promotion Fund, KRF-2005-015-E00182).