Acculturation and Dietary Practices Among Korean Americans

OBJECTIVE: Examine variation in dietary practices and nutritional intakes of Korean Americans at different acculturation levels. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mail survey. SUBJECTS/SETTING: US national sample of 348 Korean Americans (46% of the Korean American sample to whom questionnaires were delivered). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED: Analysis of variance, Pearson correlation, Spearman rank correlation, chi 2 test, and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Korean Americans who were more acculturated consumed more American food and less Korean food. American foods such as oranges, low-fat milk, bagels, tomatoes, and bread were consumed regularly by Korean Americans; Korean foods such as rice, kimchi, garlic, green onions, and Korean soup were also consumed regularly. American foods were adopted the most at breakfast and the least at dinner. Bicultural people regularly incorporated more different types of foods into their diet. Despite significant differences in dietary practices, dietary quality did not vary by acculturation status. APPLICATION/CONCLUSIONS: Acculturation was influential in the dietary patterns of Korean Americans. Specific information about Korean diet related to acculturation status can be used by dietitians who work with Korean Americans. Dietitians can benefit from gathering and applying specific information about Korean diets and diets of other ethnic groups; they also need to recognize the changing nature of dietary patterns as acculturation occurs.     

Sensory Responses to Fat are Not Affected by Varying Dietary Energy Intake From Fat and Saturated Fat Over Ranges Common in the American Diet

Objective To examine the effects of manipulating dietary fat in foods on sensitivity and hedonic response to fat in selected foods.Design Twenty subjects were randomly assigned to a sequence of three 8-week experimental diets (average American diet, step 1 diet, low-saturated-fat diet) that varied in energy from fat (37%, 30%, and 26%, respectively) and saturated fat (17%, 10%, and 6%, respectively). Subjects participated in sensory tests designed to assess their sensitivity to and liking for fat in several foods, before the study (baseline), after consumption of each diet, and after the study (washout).Subjects/setting Subjects were participants in the Dietary Effects on Lipoprotein and Thrombogenic Activity (DELTA) study.Results No significant differences were found among diets for difference thresholds (ie, just noticeable differences) for fat in milk and pudding, ad libitum mixing of low- and high-fat samples of milk and soup, and hedonic scaling of fat concentrations in milk and muffins and of cheese, mayonnaise, hot dog, and pastry samples.Applications/conclusions Within the dietary fat ranges and for the fat stimuli tested in this study, dietary fat as percentage of energy from fat and saturated fat was not a significant determinant of sensitivity to and/or liking for fat. Sensory factors should not be a barrier to the implementation of low-fat diets such as the step 1 and low-saturated-fat diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 1999;99:690–696.     

Program characteristics of home-delivered meals programs for persons with HIV and AIDS

The nutritional status of persons with HIV and AIDS [PWAs] is constantly challenged throughout the progression of the illness. Home-delivered meals programs for PWAs are rapidly developing across the country to address this problem among the growing population of people with HIV infection and AIDS. This study examined client socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, ethnicity), types of services offered by these programs, organizational and financial criteria, and characteristics of survey respondents.Data for this study was obtained from 15 of the 17 known home-delivered meals programs for PWAs in the United States through an original, cross-sectional survey instrument conducted by telephone interview between March 1994 and May 1994.Results from this study show an increase in the number of minority populations who participate in these programs (36% African-American and 12% Hispanic vs. 51% Caucasian), as well as women (17.2%) and children (7%). Geographic location was an important determinant for program eligibility. The number of meals served weekly varied greatly (from 510 to 12,600 per week). Other significant services included nutrition counselling, newsletters, and holiday-basket programs. Enhancing service-delivery systems was one of the more prevalent high-priority concerns cited, especially with regard to food quality and safety.These results show that these programs are catering increasingly to minority populations, women and children, and that they are expanding their services to meet the growing needs of their client populations. These findings suggest that there is a greater need for meals and other home-based services for persons living with HIV and AIDS.This research was supported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.He formerly was Director of Elder Health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA; he is a founder and serves on the Board of Directors of Community Servings     

Tuberous sclerosis complex and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

This report highlights the association between tuberous sclerosis and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Ten patients with concurrent diagnoses of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and tuberous sclerosis were identified. Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome presented early in life, nine cases being diagnosed in the first year. Eight of the 10 cases were male. In eight cases, the syndrome was associated with supraventricular tachycardias, and in nine with cardiac rhabdomyomata. One child died from cardiac failure secondary to obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract by a rhabdomyoma. Five of nine survivors showed resolution of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome on follow up. The accessory pathway was localised in nine patients from surface electrocardiograms: six children had left sided pathways and three had right sided pathways.     

Comprehensive mutational scanning of the p53 coding region by two- dimensional gene scanning

A comprehensive mutational scanning test for the p53 coding region based on multiplex PCR and two-dimensional DNA electrophoresis was designed and evaluated. In a 2-step multiplex PCR, the p53 coding region (exons 2-11) was amplified as a single 8646-bp fragment by long- distance PCR in step one. This fragment served as a template for the subsequent co-amplification of the individual exons in two multiplex groups in step two. The multiplex products were then separated, first on the basis of size in non-denaturant polyacrylamide gels and then on the basis of sequence by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Primers for optimal PCR, melting behavior and 2-D gel distribution were designed using a recently developed computer program. The resulting two-dimensional gene scanning (TDGS) test was evaluated by screening, in a blinded fashion, 29 coded DNA samples from Li- Fraumeni syndrome patients with previously identified germline mutations. All mutations were correctly detected. This assay provides an accurate, cost-effective and non-radioactive method for simultaneous mutational scanning of all p53 coding exons.      

Polyimide cuff electrodes for peripheral nerve stimulation

This paper describes a new tripolar spiral cuff electrode, composed of a thin (10 microm) and flexible polyimide insulating carrier and three circumneural platinum electrodes, suitable for stimulation of peripheral nerves. The cuffs were implanted around the sciatic nerve of two groups of ten rats each, one in which the polyimide ribbon was attached to a plastic connector to characterize the in vivo stimulating properties of the electrode, and one without a connector for testing possible mechanical nerve damage by means of functional and histological methods. The polyimide cuff electrodes induced only a very mild foreign body reaction and did not change the nerve shape over a 2-6 month implantation period. There were no changes in the motor and sensory nerve conduction tests, nociceptive responses and walking track pattern over follow-up, and no morphological evidence of axonal loss or demyelination, except in one case with partial demyelination of some large fibers after 6 months. By delivering single electrical pulses through the cuff electrodes graded recruitment curves of alpha-motor nerve fibers were obtained. Recruitment of all motor units was achieved with a mean charge density lower than 4 microC/cm(2) for a pulse width of 50 micros at the time of implantation as well as 45 days thereafter. These data indicate that the polyimide cuff electrode is a stable stimulating device, with physical properties and dimensions that avoid nerve compression or activity-induced axonal damage.