Evaluating Compliance with the Produce Safety Rule and Managing Mycotoxins

Foodborne diseases are the cause of many illnesses that occur from foods that contain mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are produced from fungi and are environmental and carcinogenic agents that contaminate agricultural foods during preharvest and postharvest conditions. While researchers have conducted many studies on mycotoxin occurrence and production, there is a significant gap in the current literature regarding which environmental factors could put farmers’ ability to remain in compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule at risk. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate which environmental factors could put farmers’ ability to remain in compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule at risk. The theoretical approach was the organizational economics theory with an emphasis on transaction cost economics. Secondary data consisted of 813 fumonisin toxin level survey from the Illinois Department of Agriculture and 4,020 temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collected between 2013 and 2018 were used in the analysis. Pearson correlations showed a significant negative relationship between fumonisin and temperature (p \u3c .01). Linear regression analysis showed a significant statistical relationship between temperature and fumonisin (p \u3c .05). There was also an association between temperature and wind that increase vomitoxin levels. The findings of this study showed the need to evaluate the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule to include compliance in the prevention of mycotoxins. The results of the study can influence positive social change that may bolster food safety regulations associated with risks of mycotoxin contamination in foods

Long-term disease-free survival of patients with primary cardiac lymphoma treated with systemic chemotherapy and radiotherapy

Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) is a rare disease entity with only a few reported cases in Korea. In this paper, we report a case of PCL in a 59-year-old man presenting with chest pain. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was diagnosed through a cardiac catheterization-assisted percutaneous endomyocardial biopsy, and there was no evidence of extracardiac involvement of the lymphoma.The patient had a complete clinical response after systemic chemotherapy with a rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (R-CHOP) regimen and additional post-chemotherapeutic radiation therapy. The patient experienced a long-term disease-free survival of over 4 years. However, he received coronary artery bypass graft surgery due to an acute myocardial infarction that occurred 3 years after the completion of the radiation therapy. Although the addition of radiation therapy to the treatment is thought to decrease the risk of relapse in patients with PCL, a careful and thorough consideration of the potential complications of radiation therapy, particularly with respect to cardiac complications, should be considered

Accuracy and reproducibility of quantitative coronary arteriography using 6 and 8 french catheters with cine angiographic acquisition

To determine the suitability of 6 French catheters for quantitative coronary arteriography, the relative accuracy and reproducibility of one type of these catheters was compared to that obtained with standard 8 French catheters in 20 stenoses. Duplicate injections with polyurethane 6 French catheters were obtained using hand and power injection technique with cineangiographic acquisition (four 6 French catheter injections total per stenosis). Measurements of both percent diameter stenosis and absolute dimensions were compared to those obtained with hand injection and cine acquisition using 8 French catheters as a “gold standard.” While the reproducibility of dimension determination with the 6 French catheter was generally similar to that obtained with the 8 French catheter (0.27 ± 0.23 mm for absolute diameter and 8.1 ± 7.4% for percent diameter stenosis), accuracy was significantly less for the 6 French catheter for measurement of absolute dimensions. Thus, while apparently well suited for serial measurements of the same stenoses, 6 French catheters may not be as accurate in the determination of absolute artery dimensions as 8 French catheters.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38215/1/1810220113_ftp.pd

Primary Cardiac Lymphoma Presenting With Atrioventricular Block

Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCL) are extremely rare. Clinical manifestations may be variable and are attributed to location. Here, we report on a case of PCL presenting with atrioventricular (AV) block. A 55 year-old male had experienced chest discomfort with unexplained dyspnea and night sweating. His initial electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed a first degree AV block. Along with worsening chest discomfort and dyspnea, his ECG changed to show second degree AV block (Mobitz type I). Computed tomography (CT) scan showed a cardiac mass (about 7 cm) and biopsy was performed. Pathologic finding confirmed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient was treated with multi-drug combination chemotherapy (R-CHOP: Rituximab, cyclophoshamide, anthracycline, vincristine, and prednisone). After treatment, ECG changed to show normal sinus rhythm with complete remission on follow-up CT scan

Primary cardiac lymphoma presenting as atrial flutter and total heart block

Primary cardiac lymphoma is extremely rare. We present the case of a 70-year-old man with primary cardiac lymphoma involving interatrial septum, presenting as atrial flutter and total heart block. The diagnosis was obtained by echocardiography-guided transvenous endocardial biopsy which revealed diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, CD 20+. After six courses of immunochemotherapy the patient achieved complete remission. After 2 months he developed a series of epileptic attacks. Intracerebral lymphoma extension was diagnosed. Two cycles of high-dose methotrexate and cranial irradiation were applied, resulting in a second complete remission