• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.655-671
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: While plate waste has been widely investigated in hospitals, there have been minimal studies specific to the texture-modified diet (TMD). This study aims to determine the percentage of plate waste among patients prescribed with TMD and its contributory factors. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a single-centre study conducted in the university hospital on three types of TMD (blended diet, mixed porridge, minced diet) during lunch and dinner meals. Weighing method and visual estimation method assisted by digital photograph were adopted in this study. Face to face interview was carried out to investigate on 1) the food/food service quality factors in terms of patients' satisfaction level towards sensorial quality of food and food services provided and 2) the clinical/external factors including appetite, the provision of oral nutrition support, time taking the diet, the need for feeding assistance and the length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The mean percentage of overall plate waste of 95 patients receiving TMD was high (47.5%). Blended diet was identified as the most wasted diet (65%) followed by minced diet (56%) and mixed porridge (35%). Satisfaction level among patients was moderate. Patients on TMD in general had higher satisfaction level on the aspect of food service as compared to food quality. Substantial association between sensorial qualities of food and plate waste were varied according to individual TMD type. A multiple linear regression showed that only the satisfaction level toward the aspects of appearance and variety of foods were the predictors of TMD plate waste (R² = 0.254, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A significant relationship between the percentage of plate waste and the overall satisfaction level of patients receiving TMD suggests that vigorous strategies are needed to reduce the food waste of TMD which will lead to a better nutritional status and clinical outcomes among the patients.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1653-1662
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• 2021

Objective: This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of insoluble cellulose supplementation to diets on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, the incidence of diarrhea, nutrients digestibility, and inflammatory responses in altering environmental conditions of animals housing. Methods: A total of 108 male pigs (Duroc×[Yorkshire×Landrace]) were randomly allocated to one of three dietary treatments (cellulose 0%, 1%, 2%) and two environmental conditions (good sanitary condition vs. poor sanitary condition) to give 6 replicate pens per treatment with three pigs per each pen at 14 days post-weaning. Results: Pigs were in good sanitary condition had higher average daily gain (p<0.01) and improved feed efficiency (p<0.05) from day 1 to 14 after weaning compared to their counterparts. The interactions were found between environmental conditions and dietary treatments (day 7: crypt depth [p<0.01], villous height to crypt depth [p<0.001]; day 14: crypt depth [p<0.001], villous to crypt ratio [p<0.01]) in ileum morphology. Crypt depth was decreased (p<0.05), and villous to crypt ratio was increased (p<0.05) only in poor sanitary conditions. Pigs exposed to the good sanitary condition had higher (p<0.05) apparent ileal digestibility (day 7, gross energy; day 14, dry matter), apparent total tract digestibility (day 14, dry matter and crude protein) compared to pigs housed in the poor sanitary condition. Meanwhile, pigs fed a diet supplemented with 2% cellulose had decreased (p<0.05) apparent ileal digestibility (day 7, dry matter; day 14, crude protein), apparent total tract digestibility (day 7, dry matter; day 14, crude protein, gross energy) compared to pigs fed a diet supplemented with 0% or 1% cellulose. Conclusion: Our results indicated that a diet supplemented with 1% cellulose increased villous to crypt ratio, however feeding a diet containing cellulose (1% or 2%) impaired nutrient digestibility for 14 day after weaning in both good sanitary and poor sanitary conditions.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.1022-1028
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• 2021

Objective: Supplemental nitrate is known to be an effective tool to mitigate methane emission by ruminants. Based on theoretical considerations, supplemental nitrate can improve but also deteriorate the growth performance. The overall effect of supplemental nitrate on growth performance, however, is not yet known. The objective of the current study was therefore to evaluate the effect of a higher dose of NO3- on overall growth performance when feeding either Pangola grass hay or rice straw. Methods: Thirty-two crossbred, 3-month-old Thai native×Anglo-Nubian crossbred male goats were used. The experiment had a 2×2 factorial design with an experimental period of 60 days. Eight goats were randomly allocated to each dietary treatment, i.e. a ration containing either Pangola hay (Digitaria eriantha Steud) or rice straw (Oryza Sativa) as a source of roughage, supplemented with a concentrate containing either 3.2% or 4.8% potassium nitrate. The rations were formulated to be isonitrogenous. The animals were weighed at the start of the experiment and at days 30 and 60. Feces were collected during the last five days of each 30-day period. Results: High-nitrate increased overall DM intake by approximately 3%, irrespective the source of roughage, but only the goats fed a rice straw-based ration responded with an increase in body weight (BW). Thus, the overall feed conversion ratio (kg feed/kg BW gain) was influenced by roughage source ×nitrate and decreased by almost 60% when the goats were fed rice straw in combination with a high versus a low dietary nitrate content. The digestibility of macronutrients was only affected by the source of roughage and the digestibility of organic matter, crude protein, and neutral detergent fibre was greater when the goats were fed Pangola hay. Conclusion: It was concluded that the replacement of soybean meal by nitrate improves the growth performance of meat goats fed rations based on rice straw, but not Pangola hay.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.605-614
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of TMR on in vitro rumen fermentation and methane production of goat with different forage sources. The experiment was arranged 4×2 factorial design. The different forage sources were rice straw (RS), Italian rye grass (IR), timothy (TI) and alfalfa (AL), respectively. There were two different forage : concentrate ratios such as 20:80 (20) and 50:50 (50), respectively. Therefore, totally 8 treatments were used: 1) RS20, 2) RS50, 3) IR20, 4) IR50, 5) TI20, 6) TI50, 7) AL20, and 8) AL50, respectively. The rumen fluid of goat was collected from the slaughterhouse. For fermentation parameters, ruminal pH, total gas, methane, hydrogen, ammonia nitrogen, and volatile fatty acid were determined. The pH values were within an optimal range across all treatments. Total gas productions at TI20 and AL50 were significantly greater than others (p<0.05). Methane production was significantly lower in TI and AL compared with other treatments (p<0.05). The relatively high dietary NDF content in treatments showed significantly lower methane production (p<0.05). Significant alterations treatments were detected at ammonia nitrogen concentration according to the ratio of forage : concentrate (p<0.05). AL treatment showed greater total volatile fatty acid production compared with other treatments (p<0.05). Therefore, the present study suggests that both Timothy and Alfalfa could be recommendable forage sources for goat based on results with volatile fatty acid as an energy source and methane as an index for energy loss and environmental issues. Also, the 50:50 (forage : concentrate) ratio would prefer to 20:80.

• Mycobiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.223-234
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• 2021

Itajahya rosea was found growing in association with Leucaena leucocephala plants at Savitribai Phule Pune University campus in India. The species identity was confirmed by phylogenetic analysis based on ITS and LSU regions of rDNA, wherein, our fugus was placed along with I. rosea in phylogenetic tree. It represents first record of I. rosea from India. Frequent visitation by Drosophila species on I. rosea fruiting body particularly on gleba was observed. The Drosophila got attracted to the detached gleba under the laboratory conditions and even sometimes, they prefer to sit over the gleba as compare to their food banana. It suggested that I. rosea gleba or pseudostipe produces some compounds for attraction and feeding behavior of Drosophila species. Therefore, we characterized the volatile attractants produced by gleba and pseudostipe of I. rosea by GC-MS analysis. Nineteen compounds were identified from gleba while nine compounds were recovered from the pseudostipe. Out of them, blends of three abundant odor producing volatile compounds were reported namely, Hexadecane, Pentadecane and Nonadecane, which are responsible for attraction of Drosophila toward the gleba. Three fatty acids namely 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (Z,Z), hexadecanoic acid and benzoic acid ethyl ester produced are served as an appetitive signal through olfactory response of Drosophila, so the flies were feed on the gleba. Two pheromones' compounds, heneicosane and (+)-(5S,9S)-5,9-dimethylpentadecane, were also reported in pseudostipe and gleba, respectively, which play a role in Drosophila for breeding. Our study highlights an intriguing chemical ecology of fungus-Drosophila interaction.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.28-33
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• 2019

Electronic health records (EHRs) enable us to use and re-use electronic data for various multiple purposes, such as public reporting, quality improvement, and patient outcomes research. Current hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) risk assessment instruments have not been specifically developed for intensive care unit (ICU) patients and showed false positive rates in this specific populations. Previous research studies report a number of risk factors; however, it is still not clear what factors influence ICU HAPI in this population. As part of a larger research study, we performed an exploratory analysis by using a large electronic health record data. The aims of this study were to compare characteristics of patients who developed HAPIs during their ICU stay with those who did not, and to determine whether the two groups were different in the aspects of length of ICU stay, discharge disposition, and discharge destinations. We conducted chi-square test and t-test for group comparison. Association was examined by using bivariate analyses. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine correlation between LOS and number of medications. Our findings suggest a number of consistent and potentially modifiable risk factors, such as sedation, feeding tubes, and the number of medications administered. The mortality of the HAPI group was significantly higher than the non-HAPI group in our data. Discharge disposition was significantly different between the groups. 67% of the HAPI group transferred to intermediate or long-term care hospitals whereas 57.7% of the non-HAPI group went home after discharge. Awareness of these risk factors can lead to clinical interventions that can be preventative in the ICU setting.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2019

Purpose: This study was done to assess development and postnatal care interventions in postnatal care intervention records for maternity ward nurses in tertiary hospitals and women's hospitals in South Korea. Methods: This mixed-method research was a Time-Motion (TM) study. Data were collected through external observation of 12 nurses in 4 wards over 24 hours. Mann-Whitney U test and independent t-test were employed for the analysis of frequency and provision time of direct/indirect care activity. $x^2$ (Fisher's exact test) was utilized to determine the difference in frequency between two groups. IBM SPSS 22.0 statistical program was employed for calculation. All statistical significance levels were at ${\alpha}=.05$. Results: According to the KPCS-1 (Korean Patient Classification System-1), women's hospitals are group 3 and tertiary hospitals, group 4. With respect to time difference in direct care, tertiary hospitals showed 791 minutes and women's hospitals, 399 a difference of 392 minutes. For time difference in indirect care, women's hospitals had 2,415 minutes while tertiary hospitals, 2,080, a difference of 335 minutes for women's hospitals. No difference was found in the average total care workload between the two institutions. Individual time also showed no difference (p>.05). Conclusion: High-risk maternal care strength in tertiary hospitals and breast-feeding strength in women's hospitals need to be benchmarked with each other.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.776-782
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• 2019

Objective: Fasting may lead to changes in the microbiota and activity in the rumen. In the present study, the effects of fasting on rumen microbiota and the impact of fasting on in vitro rumen fermentation were evaluated using molecular culture-independent methods. Methods: Three ruminally cannulated Holstein steers were fed rice straw and concentrates. The ruminal fluids were obtained from the same steers 2 h after the morning feeding (control) and 24 h after fasting (fasting). The ruminal fluid was filtrated through four layers of muslin, collected for a culture-independent microbial analysis, and used to determine the in vitro rumen fermentation characteristics. Total DNA was extracted from both control and fasting ruminal fluids. The rumen microbiota was assessed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Microbial activity was evaluated in control and fasting steers at various intervals using in vitro batch culture with rice straw and concentrate at a ratio of 60:40. Results: Fasting for 24 h slightly affected the microbiota structure in the rumen as determined by DGGE. Additionally, several microorganisms, including Anaerovibrio lipolytica, Eubacterium ruminantium, Prevotella albensis, Prevotella ruminicola, and Ruminobacter amylophilus, decreased in number after fasting. In addition, using the ruminal fluid as the inoculum after 24 h of fasting, the fermentation characteristics differed from those obtained using non-fasted ruminal fluid. Compared with the control, the fasting showed higher total gas production, ammonia, and microbial protein production (p<0.05). No significant differences, however, was observed in pH and dry matter digestibility. Conclusion: When in vitro techniques are used to evaluate feed, the use of the ruminal fluid from fasted animals should be used with caution.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.224-232
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• 2019

Objective: Apart from various climatic differences, corn harvest stage and varieties are two major factors that can influence the yield and quality of corn silage in the tropics. A study was conducted to determine the optimum harvest stage of four corn varieties for silage production in Malaysia. Methods: Corn was harvested at four growth stages; silking, milk, dough, and dent stages from four varieties; Sweet Corn hybrid 926, Suwan, breeding test line (BTL) 1 and BTL 2. Using a split plot design, the treatments were then analysed based on the plant growth performance, yield, nutritive and feeding values followed by a financial feasibility study for potential commercialization. Results: Significant differences and interactions were detected across the parameters suggesting varying responses among the varieties towards the harvest stages. Sweet Corn was best harvested early in the dough stage due to high dry matter (DM) yield, digestible nutrient, and energy content with low fibre portion. Suwan was recommended to be harvested at the dent stage when it gave the highest DM yield with optimum digestible nutrient and energy content with low acid detergent fibre. BTL 1 and BTL 2 varieties can either be harvested at dough or dent stages as the crude protein, crude fibre, DM yield, DM content, digestible nutrient and energy were not significantly different at either stage. Further financial analysis showed that only Sweet Corn production was not financially feasible while Suwan had the best financial appraisal values among the grain varieties. Conclusion: In conclusion, only the grain varieties tested had the potential for silage making according to their optimum harvest stage but Suwan is highly recommended for commercialization as it was the most profitable.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.233-240
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• 2019

Objective: This study was to investigate the effects of dietary cotton stalk on nitrogen and free gossypol in sheep. Methods: Treatments included 25% cotton stalk (Treat 1), 50% cotton stalk (Treat 2), and a control (no cotton stalk). Six Xinjiang daolang wethers were cannulated at the rumen and duodenum and fed one of these diets. The effects of these diets on nitrogen and free gossypol absorption and metabolism were determined. Fifteen healthy Xinjiang daolang wethers were assessed for daily gain, tissue lesions, and free gossypol accumulation. Results: Dry matter intake decreased with increasing dietary cotton stalk. Total tract dry matter digestibility did not significantly differ among treatments. Dietary cotton stalk significantly decreased volatile fatty acids and increased ammonium nitrogen in the rumen. Nitrogen intake was significantly higher in Treat 2 than in the control or Treat 1. Nitrogen retention and free gossypol intake increased with dietary cotton stalk. Duodenal free gossypol flow did not increase, and free gossypol almost disappeared from the rumen. The free gossypol content of plasma and tissue was increased with dietary cotton stalk with liver free gossypol>muscle free gossypol>kidney free gossypol. Elevated dietary free gossypol decreased platelets, hemoglobin, and serum iron. Aspartate aminotransferase and ${\gamma}$-glutamyltransferase increased in Treat 2. With high long-term dietary cotton stalk intake, liver cells were swollen, and their nuclei dissolved. Renal cells were necrotic and the interstitia were enlarged. Conclusion: With short-term cotton stalk administration, only a small amount of free gossypol is retained in the body. In response to long-term or high free gossypol cotton stalk feeding, however, free gossypol accumulates in, and damages the liver and kidneys.