Current status of nutritional provision and effects of nutritional support on the clinical outcomes of acute kidney injury requiring continuous renal replacement therapy in the surgical intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with acute kidney injury requiring continuous renal replacement therapy are at high risk of malnutrition. Nutritional support is an important part of treatment for patients with critical illness admitted to the intensive care unit. We aimed to investigate the status of nutritional provision and the effects of nutritional support on clinical outcomes. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Our institution's medical records (from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021) were analyzed in this retrospective cohort study. We included 43 patients aged >18 years who received continuous renal replacement therapy for acute kidney injury in the surgical intensive care unit. RESULTS: The demographic characteristics were similar between the survivor and non-survivor groups. The protein supply per body weight (0.88 ± 0.37 g/kg vs. 0.47 ± 0.53 g/kg, p = 0.029) and the proportion of patients who met the target protein level (58.9 ± 24.9% vs. 30.8 ± 34.9%, p = 0.022) were significantly higher in the survivor group. Approximately 79.1% of the patients had a high malnutrition risk with a modified Nutrition Risk in the Critically Ill score of ≥5. The lengths of hospital and intensive care unit stays were longer in the high nutritional risk group compared with that in the low nutritional risk group, but the result was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The nutritional amount provided in patients with critical illness is significantly lesser than the recommended amount. Ensuring proper nutritional support can improve the clinical outcomes.

Effect of Processing on Residual Buprofezin Levels in Ginseng Products.

This study determined residual buprofezin levels in fresh ginseng and evaluated their changes during processing. Supervised field trials were conducted at Yeongju, Geumsan, and Goesan, Korea. Buprofezin 12.5% EC was applied to 5-y ginseng in accordance with the Korean good agriculture practice (GAP). Samples were collected at 0, 7, 14, 21, and 30 d after the final application. On day 14 (GAP-equivalent preharvest date), the ginseng was processed to obtain dried and red ginseng. The average buprofezin concentrations on day 0 were 0.076 (Yeongju), 0.055 (Geumsan), and 0.078 mg kg-1 (Goesan). Residual concentrations increased as ginseng was processed into dried and red ginseng. Residue levels in dried ginseng manufactured by hot air drying were higher than in red ginseng obtained by steaming, hot air, and sunlight drying. However, the absolute amount of pesticides decreased by approximately 20-30% as a result of calculating the reduction factor considering the dry yield and moisture content. Therefore, the residual concentration in processed products may vary depending on the processing method, and it is deemed necessary to consider the processing yield and moisture content when evaluating the safety of residual pesticides in dried processed products.

Black soldier fly larvae oil as an alternative fat source in broiler nutrition.

The present study was conducted to investigate growth performance, carcass characteristics, short-chain fatty acids, fatty acid composition in abdominal fat, and serum parameters in broiler chickens fed diets containing corn oil, coconut oil, or black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) oil at the level of 50 g per kg of diet during the 30-day-feeding period. A total 450 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly allocated to one of 3 dietary groups. Each treatment had 10 replicates with 15 chicks per replicate. Feed conversion ratio was decreased in the coconut and BSFL oil group compared with the corn oil group. Dietary BSFL oil increased ileal weight-to-length ratio at day 30 after hatch. Dietary BSFL oil increased significantly ileal branched-chain fatty acid (P < 0.05) and moderately total short-chain fatty acid in 15-day-old broilers (P = 0.074). At day 30, ileal propionate was highest in the coconut oil group but cecal propionate was highest (P < 0.05) in the BSFL oil group. Fatty acid composition of abdominal fat was affected by dietary fat sources. Especially, chickens fed diets containing coconut oil or BSFL oil had higher contents (P < 0.05) of saturated fatty acid being dominant in lauric and myristic acids compared with those fed on corn oil. On the other hand, the reverse trend was noted (P < 0.05) as to polyunsaturated fatty acids being dominant in corn oil compared with coconut oil and BSFL oil. Coconut oil vs. corn oil significantly increased total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Finally, BSFL oil vs. corn oil significantly increased total antioxidant capacity in chickens. It is concluded that dietary BSFL oil improves feed conversion ratio and increases the incorporation of medium-chain fatty acids into abdominal fat pad and serum antioxidant capacity in broiler chickens.

A study on the fracture strength of implant-supported restorations using milled ceramic abutments and all-ceramic crowns.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare five different abutment-crown combinations for single implant-supported restorations regarding their capabilities to withstand loads. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty implants were placed into resin blocks, and the restorations were connected to the implants. The five tested restorations were: (1) metal-ceramic crowns cemented to titanium abutments, (2) In-Ceram crowns cemented to titanium abutments, (3) Celay feldspathic crowns cemented to titanium abutments, (4) In-Ceram crowns cemented to milled ceramic abutments, and (5) Celay feldspathic crowns cemented to milled ceramic abutments. The specimens were loaded at 0- and 45-degree angles to the long axis, and the load values at the moment of failure were recorded using a universal testing machine. RESULTS: The fracture strengths under vertical loading were greater than those under oblique loading. The fracture strengths of metal-ceramic crowns cemented to the titanium abutments were higher than those of all-ceramic crowns cemented on the milled ceramic abutments, regardless of loading direction. There were no differences in the fracture strengths of the ceramic crowns between the two different abutment types under oblique loading. CONCLUSION: All-ceramic crowns on the milled ceramic abutments were weaker than the metal-ceramic crowns on the titanium abutments under oblique loading.