The Effectiveness of Web-based Food Allergy Training among Restaurant Managers

Many food allergic reactions occurred in restaurants indicating employee food allergy training is necessary. The hospitality industry adopts web-based training method as it is beneficial. The objective of the study is to identify the effectiveness of web-based food allergy training on knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention serving customers with food allergies. Participants will include 100 managers from independent restaurants in Kansas. A web-based training module will be developed and pilot tested. A quasi-experimental design (intervention and control groups) with a pre- and post-test will be used to assess knowledge scores. After six month, another questionnaire that assesses participants’ retention of food allergy knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention to serve customers with food allergies will be administered. Descriptive statistics, MANOVA, MANCOVA, Chi-square analyses, logistic regression, and regression will be employed for statistical analysis. Results of the proposed study will provide insights about using web-based training as future educational tool

Exploration of Attitudes and Behaviors of Consumer with Food Allergies about Dining Out: A Focus Group Study

Aim: To investigate attitudes and behaviors of consumers with food allergies about dining out. Method: All sessions were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo Version 8.0. Results: Seventeen participants participated in four focus group sessions. Participants perceived cross-contact, hidden ingredients, and miscommunication as potential causes of food allergic reactions. Perceived barriers to provide allergen-free food were lack of training and awareness among employees. Participants perceived buffet, ethnic and specialty restaurants as risky dining places but preferred national brand, chain restaurants. Participants expected the servers to follow the given instructions and have the major allergens and ingredients listed on the menus. They felt the needs of regulations to protect people with food allergies. People with food allergies should ask for clarifications and bring an Epi-pen while dining out. Conclusion: Consumers with food allergies experienced many difficulties in restaurants due to restaurant employees’ lack of knowledge and training regarding food allergy

A Focus Group Study of Child Nutrition Professionals' Attitudes about Food Allergies and Current Training Practices

Citation: Lee, Y. M., Kwon, J., & Sauer, K. (2014). A focus group study of child nutrition professionals’ attitudes about food allergies and current training practices. Journal of Child Nutrition and Management, 38(1).Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore child nutrition professionals' (CNPs) attitudes about food allergies, current practices of food allergy training, and operational issues related to food allergy training in school foodservice operations. Methods: Three focus groups were conducted with 21 CNPs with managerial responsibilities from a midwestern state. Responses to guided, open-ended questions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed to identify common themes. Results: Participants felt that the prevalence and types of food allergies affecting school nutrition programs have increased in recent years. They also felt that communicating with other stakeholders and verifying physicians' recommendations regarding food allergies can be difficult. Participants agreed that training could improve food allergy knowledge and awareness of their employees and improve safety of children with food allergies. However, only a few reported providing specific food allergy training for employees. Cost, scheduling difficulties, and time constraints were identified as barriers to providing food allergy training. Participants preferred having credentialed professionals to conduct employee food allergy training. Support from school administrators and witnessing a food allergic reaction in the cafeteria would trigger a decision to initiate food allergy training. Applications to Child Nutrition Professionals: Improved communication between school foodservice staff and other stakeholders is crucial to better serve students with food allergies. A well-planned, structured training program could better prepare school foodservice employees serving students with food allergies. CNPs might need continuous guidance and assistance regarding employee food allergy training. State agencies and professional organizations should work with CNPs to develop and communicate best practices for prevention and management of food allergic reactions

Food Safety Training Needs at Evacuation Shelters Operated by Faith-Based Organizations

Citation: Kwon, J., Zottarelli, L., Kwon, S., Lee, Y. M., & Ryu, D. (2013). Food safety training needs at evacuation shelters operated by faith-based organizations. Journal of Environmental Health, 76(2), 14-21.The authors conducted a survey to identify food safety training needs at evacuation shelters operated by faith-based organizations (FBOs) in four hurricane-prone states. Five thousand randomly selected FBO leaders were asked questions about their food safety attitudes and food handling practices at evacuation shelters. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance were calculated to summarize and prioritize the responses. Results from 138 leaders revealed that on average, 590 ± 4,787 evacuees were served for 36 ± 72 days at FBO-operated shelters. Only 19.6% felt they were well prepared for the shelter. Only 5.8% had professional food preparation staff and many accepted hot (47.8%) and cold (37%) prepared food donations. Some lacked adequate refrigerator (18.8%) or freezer (16.7%) spaces, but 40% kept hot food leftovers for later use. The majority did not provide food safety training before opening the shelters (73.2%), yet 76.9% said they will provide food to evacuation shelters again. The results show a need for food safety training and specific strategies for training at FBOs

The Phonological Process with Two Patterns of Simplified Chinese Characters

This paper analyzed word recognition in two patterns of Chinese characters, cross referenced with word frequency. The patterns were defined as uni-part (semantic radical/component only) and bi-part (including the phonetic radical/component and the semantic radical/component) characters. The interactions of semantic and phonological access in both patterns were inspected. It was observed that in the naming task and the pronunciation-matching task, the subject performance involving the uni-part characters showed longer RT than the bi-part characters. However, with the lexical decision and meaning-matching tasks the uni-part characters showed shorter RT than the bi-part characters. It was also observed that the frequency, which is regarded as a lexical variable, displayed a strong influence. This suggests that Chinese characters require lexical access in all tasks. This study also suggested that the phonological process is primary in visual word recognition; as there is a significant phonological effect in processing the Chinese bi-part characters, resulting in either the facilitation or inhibition of phonology due to the differing demands of the two task

Effect of ablated hippocampal neurogenesis on the formation and extinction of contextual fear memory

Newborn neurons in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampus incorporate into the dentate gyrus and mature. Numerous studies have focused on hippocampal neurogenesis because of its importance in learning and memory. However, it is largely unknown whether hippocampal neurogenesis is involved in memory extinction per se. Here, we sought to examine the possibility that hippocampal neurogenesis may play a critical role in the formation and extinction of hippocampus-dependent contextual fear memory. By methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) or gamma-ray irradiation, hippocampal neurogenesis was impaired in adult mice. Under our experimental conditions, only a severe impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis inhibited the formation of contextual fear memory. However, the extinction of contextual fear memory was not affected. These results suggest that although adult newborn neurons contribute to contextual fear memory, they may not be involved in the extinction or erasure of hippocampus-dependent contextual fear memory

Remote Sensing and Estimation

Contains table of contents for Section 4, and reports on six research projects.MIT Lincoln Laboratory Agreement CX-19383MIT Lincoln Laboratory Agreement BX-6178MIT Lincoln Laboratory Agreement BX-6433National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center Grant NAS5-31376National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center Grant NAG5-10MIT Leaders for Manufacturing Progra

Urinary Malondialdehyde Is Associated with Visceral Abdominal Obesity in Middle-Aged Men

The purpose of the present study was to investigate multiple anthropometric parameters used to evaluate obesity, particularly visceral abdominal fat area, and various metabolic parameters including malondialdehyde (MDA) as an oxidative stress marker. We evaluated various measures of obesity, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), sagittal abdominal diameter, fat percentages using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area, multiple biomarkers related to metabolic disease, and urinary MDA, in 73 asymptomatic middle-aged men who were not severely obese. We examined relationships between multiple measures of obesity, metabolic markers, and urinary MDA levels and evaluated associations between VFA and urinary MDA. In the visceral obesity group, -glutamyl transferase (GGT), uric acid, and urinary MDA levels were significantly higher than in the nonvisceral obesity group (P = 0.008, P = 0.002, and P = 0.018). Urinary MDA (r = 0.357, P = 0.002) and uric acid (r = 0.263, P = 0.027) levels were only significantly positively correlated with VFA among measures of obesity. Urinary MDA, serum GGT, and serum CRP were significantly positively associated with VFA (P = 0.001, P = 0.046, and P = 0.023, resp.), even after adjusting for BMI and WC

Radio Astronomy

Contains table of contents for Section 4 and reports on six research projects.MIT Lincoln Laboratory Agreement BX-6178MIT Lincoln Laboratory Agreement BX-6433National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center Grant NAS5-31376MIT Lincoln Laboratory Agreement CX-19383National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center Grant NAG5-10MIT Leaders for Manufacturing Progra