The increased consumption of high fat-containing foods has been linked to the prevalence of obesity and abnormal metabolic syndromes. Rhizopus oligosporus, a fungus in the family Mucoraceae, is widely used as a starter for homemade tempeh. Although R. oligosporus can prevent the growth of other microorganisms, it grows well with lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Lactobacillus plantarum can produce β-glucosidase, which catalyzes the hydrolysis of glucoside isoflavones into aglycones (with greater bioavailability). Therefore, the development of a soybean-based functional food by the co-inoculation of R. oligosporus and L. plantarum is a promising approach to increase the bioactivity of tempeh. In this study, the ameliorative effect of L. plantarum in soy tempeh on abnormal carbohydrate metabolism in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hyperglycemic rats was evaluated. The co-incubation of L. plantarum with R. oligosporus during soy tempeh fermentation reduced the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, HbA1c, serum glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, free fatty acid, insulin, and low-density lipoprotein contents, and significantly increased the high-density lipoprotein content in HFD rats. It also increased the LAB counts, as well as the bile acid, cholesterol, triglyceride, and short-chain fatty acid contents in the feces of HFD rats. Our results suggested that the modulation of serum glucose and lipid levels by LAB occurs via alterations in the internal microbiota, leading to the inhibition of cholesterol synthesis and promotion of lipolysis. Tempeh, which was produced with both L. plantarum and R. oligosporus, might be a beneficial dietary supplement for individuals with abnormal carbohydrate metabolism.

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Introduction Pneumothorax often complicates the management of mechanically ventilated severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients in the isolation intensive care unit (ICU). We sought to determine whether pneumothoraces are induced by high ventilatory pressure or volume and if they are associated with mortality in mechanically ventilated SARS patients.

In a SARS ICU, patients with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS had significantly different clinical features and timing of mortality from those of the control group.

In hospitals, rehabilitation inpatients often complain about long waiting time between the therapeutic processes. Due to the partial precedence constraints of rehabilitation therapies, the rehabilitation scheduling problem is a hybrid shop scheduling problem. This article aims to construct a decision support system for rehabilitation scheduling. Equipped with the developed genetic algorithm, this system can generate the optimal schedules for rehabilitation patients to minimize waiting time and thus enhance service quality and overall resource effectiveness of rehabilitation facilities. The developed system is also equipped with GUI (graphical user interfaces) to provide scheduling information including Gantt charts and scheduling lists to support various users including therapists and inpatients. We conducted an empirical study in a general hospital for validation. The results showed that the waiting time of each inpatient is reduced significantly and thus demonstrated the practical viability of the proposed solution to enhance the effectiveness of hospital resource management. The developed system has been implemented online in the hospital.