The average prevalence of reported foodborne illness from 1981 to 1995 was 2.44 per 100,000 population in Korea, and 28.01 in Japan. The mean case fatality rate in Korea was 0.74% and in Japan, 0.03%. When both prevalence and case fatality rates in Korea and Japan were compared during the same period, the prevalence in Japan was much higher than that in Korea. However, the case fatality rate of patients in Korea was much higher than that in Japan. The distribution of monthly and seasonal patterns of foodborne illness outbreaks strongly indicate the outbreaks may be associated with climatic conditions, frequencies of national holidays, and vacation seasons. Comparison study indicates that the foodborne illness outbreaks in Korea most frequently involved homemade foods (47% of the total cases); in Japan, restaurants accounted for 31.3%. Foodborne illness cases of bacterial origin in Korea were 59.3% of the total and included Salmonella spp. (20.7%). Vibrio (17.4%), Staphylococcus (9.7%), pathogenic Escherichia coli (2.4%), and other species (9.1%); in Japan, 72.8% of the total cases and the majority of the bacterial foodborne illness was caused by Vibrio (32.3%), Staphylococcus (15.9%), Salmonella (14.2%), pathogenic E. coli (3.0%), and other species (7.2%). In conclusion, the outbreaks of foodborne illness in Korea and Japan may be mainly caused by improper food handling, and their occurrences may be differentiated according to food sources.

Object The purpose of this study was to analyze the usefulness of the BioFlex, a Nitinol spring rod dynamic stabilization system, and the Nitinol shape memory loop (KIMPF-DI Fixing System) as a posterior dynamic stabilization system in surgery for low-back pain. Methods The 103 patients who underwent treatment with the BioFlex system were divided into two groups: Group 1, dynamic stabilization with or without posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF); and Group 2, rigid fixation (PLIF + BioFlex system only). A total of 66 segments were treated with only the BioFlex system; in these the preoperative range of motion (ROM) was 10.0 ± 4.3°, which changed to 4.1 ± 1.9° after surgery. Adjacent-segment ROM changed from 8.4 ± 3.4° to 10.7 ± 3.2° in Group 1 and from 6.5 ± 3.2° to 10.5 ± 4.6° in Group 2 postoperatively. A total of 110 segments received both BioFlex and PLIF, with a fusion rate of 90.0%. The visual analog scale score for back pain improved from 7.3 ± 3.1 to 1.4 ± 1.8 in Group 1 and from 7.4 ± 2.4 to 2.1 ± 2.3 in Group 2. The Oswestry Disability Index improved from 35.2 ± 6.4 to 12.1 ± 4.5 in Group 1 and from 37.8 ± 5.7 to 13.6 ± 4.2 in Group 2. (The ROM and assessment scores expressed are the mean ± standard deviation.) The 194 patients in whom Nitinol memory loops were implanted were analyzed based on the preoperative and 1-year postoperative ROM of each lumbar segment. The change of ROM in looped segments treated with PLIF was significantly reduced, but the change of ROM in looped segments without PLIF was not significant. The change of ROM at the segment adjacent to the loop was not significant, and the change of kyphosis reflected a slight recovery. Conclusions The Nitinol BioFlex dynamic stabilization system can achieve stabilization and simultaneously allow physiological movement, which can in turn decrease the degeneration of adjacent segments. When used with PLIF, the fusion rate can be expected to increase. The flexible Nitinol shape memory loop, a posterior dynamic stabilization device, is an adequate tension band that displays strength similar to the posterior ligamentous structures. In combination with PLIF at the main lesion, the BioFlex system or the Nitinol memory loop can provide posterior dynamic stabilization to the transitional upper or lower segments, enhance the fusion rate, reduce the adjacent-segment degeneration, and provide dynamic stabilization of the spine.

Alpinae Oxyphyllae Fructus (Alpinia oxyphylla MIQ) (Korean name Ik-Jj-In) is a medicinal plant used in Korea for the treatment of various symptoms accompanying hypertension and cerebrovascular disorders. The present study was performed to investigate the effects of Alpinae Oxyphyllae Fructus water-extracts (AOF) on a cultured primary neuron cell system, cell cytotoxicity and lipid peroxidation in Abeta treatment conditions. Cell killing was significantly enhanced by addition of increasing concentrations of Abeta. Pretreatment of AOF attenuated in cell killing enhanced by increasing concentrations of Abeta. Abeta-induced cell death was protected by the application of water extract of AOF in a dose-dependent manner, and concentrations of 50 to 100 micro g/ml had a significant effect compared to exposure of Abeta only. AOF has been shown to protect primary cultured neurons from N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated glutamate toxicity. The evidence indicated that AOF protects neurons against ischemia-induced cell death. Oral administration of AOF into mice prevented ischemia-induced learning disability and rescued hippocampal CA1 neurons from lethal ischemic damage. The neuroprotective action of exogenous AOF was also confirmed by counting synapses in the hippocampal CA1 region. The presence of AOF in neuron cultures did not repress a NMDA receptor-mediated increase in intracellular Ca(2+), but rescued the neurons from NO-induced death. AOF may exert its neuroprotective effect by reducing the NO-mediated formation of free radicals or antagonizing their toxicity.

We study the stability and migration mechanism of self-interstitials in Si through first-principles self-consistent pseudopotential calculations. The neutral Si interstitial is lowest in energy at a [110]-split site, with energy barriers of 0.15-0.18 eV for migrating into hexagonal and tetrahedral interstitial sites, while the migration barrier from a hexagonal site to a tetrahedral site is lower, 0.12 eV. These migration barriers are further reduced through successive changes in the charge state at different sites, which allow for the athermal diffusion of interstitials at very low temperatures. The [110]-split geometry is also the most stable structure for negatively charged states, while positively charged self-interstitials have the lowest energy at tetrahedral sites. Apart from the migration barrier, the formation energy of the [110]-split interstitial is estimated to be about 4.19 eV; thus, the resulting activation enthalpy of about 4.25 eV is in good agreement with high-temperature experimental data.