RESUMEN
The effect of feeding with taurine-enriched rotifers on larval growth and survival in the small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis was investigated. Rotifers, control (without taurine enrichment) or enriched with a commercial taurine supplement at two concentrations (400, and 800 mg/L), were used. The larvae (initial notochord length = 3.83 mm) were fed taurine-enriched rotifers in triplicate, from 3 days after hatching for 12 days. The average taurine contents of the rotifers were 0.31, 5.34, and 8.55 mg/g dry matter, respectively. The rotifers from all treatments had similar fatty acid composition. The growth and survival rates of the larvae fed rotifers enriched with 800 mg/L taurine supplementation were significantly higher than those of larvae fed rotifers without taurine enrichment (p = 0.005 and 0.002, respectively). The whole-body taurine content in the fish increased significantly with the increase in taurine level in the rotifers: 1.02, 3.48, and 4.11 mg/g in larvae fed control rotifers, and rotifers enriched with 400, and 800 mg/L taurine supplementation, respectively. The results of this study indicate that small yellow croaker larvae benefit from taurine concentrations above those typically reported in non-taurine-enriched rotifers.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Few studies have evaluated the use of a smartphone application (app) for educating people undergoing colonoscopy and optimizing bowel preparation. Therefore, this study was designed to develop a smartphone app for people to use as a preparation guide and to evaluate the efficacy of this app when used prior to colonoscopy. METHODS: In total, 142 patients (male:female=84:58, mean age=43.5±9.3 years), who were scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy at Myongji Hospital, were enrolled in this study. Seventy-one patients were asked to use a smartphone app that we had recently developed to prepare for the colonoscopy, while the 71 patients of the sex and age-matched control group were educated via written and verbal instructions. RESULTS: The quality of bowel cleansing, evaluated using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale, was significantly higher in the smartphone app group than in the control group (7.70±1.1 vs. 7.24±0.8, respectively, p=0.007 by t-test). No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding work-up time and the number of patients with polyps. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, targeting young adults (≤50 years), the bowel preparation achieved by patients using the smartphone app showed significantly better quality than that of the control group.