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The neutropenic diet has long been a dietary prescription for immunocompromised patients. However, its effectiveness and consistency have been constantly challenged. Researchers and health care policymakers call for liberalization of the neutropenic diet, which shifts risk management strategies from excluding “high-risk” food items to focus on safe food handling. The responsibility of food safety falls on food service workers in a health care setting. The objective of the present study was to develop and conduct psychometric testing to determine the validity and reliability of a self-assessment survey instrument tool targeting beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of health care food service workers regarding safe food handling practices. This survey validation study was conducted in four phases. First, the tool was developed based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. After the initial draft, the survey was tested to establish face validity and test-retest reliability to measure temporal stability. The 40-item survey was then pilot tested to assess internal consistency and construct validity. Pilot testing was conducted over a 16-month period on 211 health care food service workers across six acute care hospitals that serve immunocompromised people. The original survey comprised 46 items. Six items were removed due to low content validity scores and temporal instability. Pilot testing revealed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79). The linear regression model was a good fit (P≤ 0.0001) after assumptions were tested and met to predict behavior from attitude. A reliable and valid self-assessment survey instrument tool was developed for use in a health care food service operation. Results of this tool can help organizations pinpoint areas in which they can improve food safety practices of food service workers who serve immunocompromised people.

Dietary phytate (IP6) enjoys a reputation as an inhibitor of calcium renal stone formation, although there are very few human studies to support this notion. In South Africa, urolithiasis occurs in the white (W) but is rare in the black (B) population. We undertook this unique human model to further investigate the IP6 theory.

Although the incidence of urolithiasis is lower in children than in adults, the number of children with urolithiasis is increasing. Phytate, a naturally occurring compound present in legumes, nuts, and whole meals, has antilithiasic activity. The aim of this study was to assess, for the first time, the urinary levels of phytate in children and to correlate these levels with other urinary parameters related to crystallization risk and to general dietary habits.

At present, beneficial properties of phytate have been observed. However, due to the special characteristics of this molecule and its low concentrations in physiological samples, the analytical determination of phytate in these samples becomes a complex and tedious problem. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to develop a simple and reliable methodology for phytate analysis in rat urine. In this study, two diets were administered to Wistar rats, namely: UAR-A03 (standard diet containing 1% phytate) and AIN-76A (purified diet with undetectable phytate). 24 h urine samples were collected and analysed for phytate by employing a procedure based on the purification and preconcentration of phytate by solid-phase extraction prior to detection with Al(iii)–xylenol orange. All variables for both the solid phase extraction and colorimetric assay were optimized. The working linear range for colorimetric detection was 0–12 μM phytate. The limit of detection was 0.044 μM and the limit of quantification was 0.188 μM. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for 1 μM phytate was 1.46%. When the standard rat chow was replaced by the phytate-poor rat chow, the urinary phytate concentrations fell to very low values after 15 days. These concentrations were restored to normal values when the standard diet was newly supplied. A recovery study was conducted with satisfactory results (88%). The results obtained in the present study, using the new metal–dye system, are comparable to the results obtained with an alternative method of detection. All these results demonstrate the suitability of the new method for phytate analysis in rat urine.

Reports developments of several business enterprises in Florida. Launching of the Northern Large Cap Value Fund by Northern Trust Corp.; Acquisition of health care facilities by Medical Staffing Network; Profit performance of SportsLine.com Inc. as of the year 1999.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to an article on personnel problems in the oil and gas industry by Janeen Judah in the September 23, 2002 issue.