Search Results (2)

Background: Multimodal prehabilitation programs, which may incorporate nutritional supplementation and exercise, have been developed to combat sarcopenia in surgical patients to enhance post-operative outcomes. However, the optimal regime remains unknown. The use of beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) has beneficial effects on muscle mass and strength. However, its effect on muscle quality in the perioperative setting has yet to be established. This study aims to explore the impact of a multimodal prehabilitation program using a bundle of care that includes high-protein oral nutritional supplementation (HP ONS) with HMB and resistance exercise on muscle quality and functional outcomes in sarcopenic surgical patients. Methods: Sarcopenic adult patients undergoing elective major gastrointestinal surgeries were recruited for this pilot interventional cohort study. They were enrolled in a 2–4-week multimodal prehabilitation program comprising resistance exercise, nutritional supplementation, vitamin supplementation, comorbid optimization and smoking cessation. Participants were provided three units of HP ONS with HMB per day pre-operatively. The primary outcome was changes in intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) as a proxy of muscle quality, assessed using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-aided ultrasonography. Secondary outcomes include changes in anthropometric measurements and functional characteristics. Outcomes were measured before prehabilitation, after prehabilitation and 1 month post-operatively. Results: A total of 36 sarcopenic patients, with a median age of 71.5 years, were included in this study. There was an increase in the IMAT index after two weeks of prehabilitation (p = 0.032) to 1 month after surgery (p = 0.028). Among functional parameters, improvement was observed in gait speed (p = 0.01) after two weeks of prehabilitation, which returned to baseline post-operatively. The median length of hospital stay was 7 (range: 2–75) days. Conclusions: The increase in the IMAT index in a sarcopenic surgical cohort undergoing prehabilitation may be due to altered muscle metabolism in elderly sarcopenic patients. A prehabilitation regime in sarcopenic patients incorporating HP ONS with HMB and resistance exercise is feasible and is associated with increased gait speed. Full article

During the production of oil and gas, a large amount of oily wastewater is generated, which would pollute the environment if discharged without proper treatment. As one of the most promising treatment options, membrane material used for oily wastewater treatment should possess desirable properties of high hydraulic performance combined with high membrane fouling resistance. This project employs the vapor induced phase separation (VIPS) technique to develop a hydrophilic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane with polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an additive for produced water treatment. Results show that thanks to its slow nonsolvent intake, the VIPS method hinders additive leaching during the cast film immersion. The results also reveal that the exposure of the film to the open air before immersion greatly influences the structure of the developed membranes. By extending the exposure time from 0 to 30 min, the membrane morphology change from typical asymmetric with large macrovoids to the macrovoid-free porous symmetric membrane with a granular structure, which corresponds to 35% increment of steady-state permeability to 189 L·m⁻²h⁻¹bar⁻¹, while maintaining >90% of oil rejection. It was also found that more PEG content resides in the membrane matrix when the exposure time is extended, contributes to the elevation of surface hydrophilicity, which improves the membrane antifouling properties. Overall results demonstrate the potential of VIPS method for the fabrication of hydrophilic PVDF membrane by helping to preserve hydrophilic additive in the membrane matrices. Full article