Random Scheduling Research Articles

Spatial distribution of behavior under concurrent random-time schedules of water

A study was designed to explore the effects of concurrent random-time delivery of water on the spatial dimensions of behavior with five different continuous measures in time and space. Four water-deprived male-Wistar rats were exposed to two concurrent random time schedules of water delivered in two dispensers located at opposite walls of an enlarged experimental chamber. In five different phases, the scheduled frequency of water deliveries remained constant while their distribution in each of two dispensers varied systematically. The continuous record of rat location through the experimental chamber was analyzed in terms of the directionality, vigor, variation, preference, and persistence of behavior. Directionality and preference showed systematic variations as the number of dispensers providing water and their timing changed, vigor and variation remained relatively constant through the experimental phases, and persistence showed a slight decrease across phases. Results support the argument that molar continuous measures depict extended moment-to-moment changes in behavioral dimensions usually not considered in the typical procedures recording discrete repetitive responses.

Aspirin as a Treatment for ARDS: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

There is no pharmacologic treatment for ARDS. Platelets play an important role in the pathophysiology of ARDS. Preclinical, observational, and clinically relevant models of ARDS indicate aspirin as a potential therapeutic option. Is enteral aspirin (75mg, once daily) safe and effective in improving surrogate outcomes in adult patients with ARDS? This randomized, double-blind (patient and investigator), allocation-concealed, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial was conducted in five UK ICUs. Patients fulfilling the Berlin definition of ARDS were randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio to receive enteral aspirin (75mg) or placebo, for a maximum of 14days, using a computer-generated randomization schedule, with variable block size, stratified by vasopressor requirement. The primary end point was oxygenation index (OI) on day 7. Secondary outcomes included safety parameters and other respiratory physiological markers. Analyses were by intention to treat. The trial was stopped early, due to slow recruitment, after 49 of a planned 60 patients were recruited. Twenty-four patients were allocated to aspirin and 25 to placebo. There was no significant difference in day 7 OI [aspirin group: unadjusted mean, 54.4 (SD 26.8); placebo group: 42.4 (SD 25); mean difference, 12.0; 95%CI, -6.1 to 30.1; P= .19]. Aspirin did not significantly impact the secondary outcomes. There was no difference in the number of adverse events between the groups (13 in each; OR, 1.04; 95%CI, 0.56-1.94; P= .56). Aspirin was well tolerated but did not improve OI or other physiological outcomes; a larger trial is not feasible in its current design. ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT02326350; URL: www. gov.

Pharmacokinetic profile of a novel sustained-release caffeine with extended benefits on alertness and mood: A randomized, double-blind, single-dose, active-controlled, crossover study

• Xtenergy™ demonstrated a slow absorption and sustained plasma caffeine levels based on T max , t 1/2 and AUC data. • T max was 325.53% higher ( p < 0.05) and t 1/2 was 21.34% higher ( p < 0.05) for Xtenergy™ as compared to immediate release caffeine. • Xtenergy™ demonstrated similar total exposure as IRC based on the 90% CI of 84.63% - 114.45% for AUC 0–24. • Slow-Release caffeine showed significant beneficial effects ( p < 0.05) at several of the time points on alertness, tiredness, overall mood, jitteriness and less tenseness without any safety issues. Oral consumption of caffeine typically leads to its instant release and subsequent rapid absorption, high plasma caffeine levels followed by a quick steep decline reducing its beneficial effects which is frequently referred to as “caffeine crash”. To overcome this limitation, we developed a new slow and sustained-release caffeine (SRC) formulation, Xtenergy™. The primary objective was to compare the plasma pharmacokinetic profile of SRC with immediate-release caffeine (IRC). Secondary objectives included the use of caffeine research visual analogue scales (Caff - VAS) to evaluate some of the nootropic benefits of SRC and safety assessments. This was a randomized, double-blind, single-dose, active-controlled, crossover study. Twenty-six subjects were randomized to receive 200 mg caffeine from SRC and IRC in a crossover fashion as per the randomization schedule. Blood samples were collected at -4, 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 24 h in each period. Plasma caffeine levels were analyzed by a validated LC-MS/MS method. The changes in Caff-VAS relaxed, alert, jittery, tired, tense, headache, overall mood from baseline i.e., 0 to 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 h were evaluated. Twenty-four male subjects with mean age 32.71±6.18 years completed the study. The median T max was 325.53% higher ( p < 0.05) for SRC as compared to IRC (4.00 vs. 0.94 h) and mean t 1/2 was 21.34% higher ( p < 0.05) for SRC as compared to IRC (9.± 4.56 vs. 7.61± 3.98 h). SRC demonstrated similar total exposure as IRC based on the 90% CI of 84.63% - 114.45% for ln-transformed AUC 0–24 . AUC 4–8 and AUC 6–12 were 6.80% and 22.84% higher for SRC as compared to IRC, respectively. Compared to IRC, SRC showed significant beneficial effects ( p < 0.05) on feelings of being more alert, less tired, better overall mood, less jittery and less tense at several of the study time points. No safety concerns were observed. SRC showed a slow absorption and sustained plasma caffeine levels. Compared to IRC, we saw significant benefits of SRC at several of the time points on alertness, tiredness, overall mood, jitteriness and tenseness without any safety concerns.

Non-Linear Energy Harvesting in RIS-Assisted URLLC Networks for Industry Automation

A reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-assisted wireless communication system with non-linear energy harvesting (EH) and ultra-reliable low-latency constraints is considered for its possible applications in industrial automation. A distant data-center (DC) communicates with the multiple destination machines with the help of a full-duplex (FD) server machine (SM) and RIS. Assuming the deficiency of enough transmission power at the FD-SM, the SM is considered in the near vicinity of the destinations in the industry to forward the data received from the distant DC. The reception at SM is assisted by the RIS and a non-linear hybrid power-time splitting (PTS) based EH receiver architecture is adopted to extend the lifespan of SM, thus increasing network lifetime. The scheduling of multiple destinations is done by SM based on the considered selection criteria namely, random (RND) scheduling, absolute (ABS) channel-power-based (CPB) scheduling and normalized (NRM) CPB scheduling. The end-to-end performance of the considered FD RIS-assisted network is analyzed, and the expressions for the block error rate (BLER) for all scheduling schemes are derived. Moreover, the effects of number of RIS elements, packet size, channel uses on the system performance are analyzed for the considered ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) network. The scheduling fairness of all the scheduling schemes is also analyzed to study the performance-fairness trade-off. The derived analytical results are verified through Monte-Carlo simulations.

Safety, pharmacokinetics, and antimalarial activity of the novel plasmodium eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2 inhibitor M5717: a first-in-human, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single ascending dose study and volunteer infection study

SummaryBackgroundM5717 is the first plasmodium translation elongation factor 2 inhibitor to reach clinical development as an antimalarial. We aimed to characterise the safety, pharmacokinetics, and antimalarial activity of M5717 in healthy volunteers.MethodsThis first-in-human study was a two-part, single-centre clinical trial done in Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Part one was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose study in which participants were enrolled into one of nine dose cohorts (50, 100, 200, 400, 600, 1000, 1250, 1800, or 2100 mg) and randomly assigned (3:1) to M5717 or placebo. A sentinel dosing strategy was used for each dose cohort whereby two participants (one assigned to M5717 and one assigned to placebo) were initially randomised and dosed. Randomisation schedules were generated electronically by independent, unblinded statisticians. Part two was an open-label, non-randomised volunteer infection study using the Plasmodium falciparum induced blood-stage malaria model in which participants were enrolled into three dose cohorts. Healthy men and women of non-childbearing potential aged 18–55 years were eligible for inclusion; individuals in the volunteer infection study were required to be malaria naive. Safety and tolerability (primary outcome of the single ascending dose study and secondary outcome of the volunteer infection study) were assessed by frequency and severity of adverse events. The pharmacokinetic profile of M5717 was also characterised (primary outcome of the volunteer infection study and secondary outcome of the single ascending dose study). Parasite clearance kinetics (primary outcome of the volunteer infection study) were assessed by the parasite reduction ratio and the corresponding parasite clearance half-life; the incidence of recrudescence up to day 28 was determined (secondary outcome of the volunteer infection study). Recrudescent parasites were tested for genetic mutations (exploratory outcome). The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03261401).FindingsBetween Aug 28, 2017, and June 14, 2019, 221 individuals were assessed for eligibility, of whom 66 men were enrolled in the single ascending dose study (eight per cohort for 50–1800 mg cohorts, randomised three M5717 to one placebo, and two in the 2100 mg cohort, randomised one M5717 to one placebo) and 22 men were enrolled in the volunteer infection study (six in the 150 mg cohort and eight each in the 400 mg and 800 mg cohorts). No adverse event was serious; all M5717-related adverse events were mild or moderate in severity and transient, with increased frequency observed at doses above 1250 mg. In the single ascending dose study, treatment-related adverse events occurred in three of 17 individuals in the placebo group; no individual in the 50 mg, 100 mg, or 200 mg groups; one of six individuals in each of the 400 mg, 1000 mg, and 1250 mg groups; two of six individuals in the 600 mg group; and in all individuals in the 1800 mg and 2100 mg groups. In the volunteer infection study, M5717-related adverse events occurred in no participants in the 150 mg or 800 mg groups and in one of eight participants in the 400 mg group. Transient oral hypoesthesia (in three participants) and blurred vision (in four participants) were observed in the 1800 mg or 2100 mg groups and constituted an unknown risk; thus, further dosing was suspended after dosing of the two sentinel individuals in the 2100 mg cohort. Maximum blood concentrations occurred 1–7 h after dosing, and a long half-life was observed (146–193 h at doses ≥200 mg). Parasite clearance occurred in all participants and was biphasic, characterised by initial slow clearance lasting 35–55 h (half-life 231·1 h [95% CI 40·9 to not reached] for 150 mg, 60·4 h [38·6 to 138·6] for 400 mg, and 24·7 h [20·4 to 31·3] for 800 mg), followed by rapid clearance (half-life 3·5 h [3·1 to 4·0] for 150 mg, 3·9 h [3·3 to 4·8] for 400 mg, and 5·5 h [4·8 to 6·4] for 800 mg). Recrudescence occurred in three (50%) of six individuals dosed with 150 mg and two (25%) of eight individuals dosed with 400 mg. Genetic mutations associated with resistance were detected in four cases of parasite recrudescence (two individuals dosed with 150 mg and two dosed with 400 mg).InterpretationThe safety, pharmacokinetics, and antimalarial activity of M5717 support its development as a component of a single-dose antimalarial combination therapy or for malaria prophylaxis.FundingWellcome Trust and the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

Optimizing the JSM Program

Sometimes the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) is frustrating to attend, because multiple sessions on the same topic are scheduled at the same time. This article uses seeded latent Dirichlet allocation and a scheduling optimization algorithm to very significantly reduce overlapping content in the original schedule for the 2020 JSM program. Specifically, a measure based on total variation distance that ranges from 0 (random scheduling) to 1 (no overlapping content) finds that the original schedule had a score of 0.058, whereas our proposed schedule achieved a score of 0.371. This is a huge improvement that would (i) increase participant satisfaction as measured by the post-JSM satisfaction survey, and (ii) save the American Statistical Association significant money by obviating the need for the traditional in-person meeting of the 47 program chairs and other organizers. The methodology developed in this work immediately applies to future JSMs and is easily modified to improve scheduling for any other scientific conference that has parallel sessions.

Huatan Dingji Decoction intervening in atrial fibrillation: protocol for a randomized double-blind single-simulated placebo-controlled clinical trial

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias and can lead to heart failure (HF), stroke, pulmonary embolism (PE), and other complications, seriously affecting people’s quality of life and health. Western medicine is limited in the treatment of AF, while Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has unique advantages, such as less side effects, low toxicity, long effect duration, and high compliance. The prescription of HTDJ is a common prescription for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It has been used for many years and has a large number of clinically effective cases. It has a good clinical application prospect, but there is a lack of effective evaluation of its clinical efficacy.MethodThis study adopts a randomized double-blind, single-simulated, placebo-controlled research method. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio through a centrally controlled, computer-generated, simple randomization schedule. Participants would take the medicine for 1 month, and the curative effect would be evaluated. Subsequently, the participants would not take TCM and only receive western medicine treatment. They would be followed up for another 8 weeks, and a clinical evaluation would be conducted. The secondary outcomes include echocardiography, Hamilton Anxiety Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale, rate of increase and decrease of anti-arrhythmia western medicine, the MOS 36-item short-form health survey, N-terminal-pro hormone B-type natriuretic peptide level, and integral TCM syndrome score. Adverse events will be monitored throughout the trial. Cases are from outpatient and inpatient with atrial fibrillation in the Cardiology Department of Longhua Hospital. Evaluations will be conducted at baseline and at weeks 4 and 12 after randomization.DiscussionIn this study, the efficacy and safety of HTDJ plus western medicine in the treatment of atrial fibrillation (qi deficiency and phlegm opacities) will be evaluated, so as to provide medical evidence of short-term and medium-term clinical efficacy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation with integrated traditional and western medicine and lay a foundation for further clinical development and application.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.govChiCTR2000030517. Registered on March 5, 2020, with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry

Effect of dapagliflozin on urinary albumin excretion in patients with chronic kidney disease with and without type 2 diabetes: a prespecified analysis from the DAPA-CKD trial

Reductions in albuminuria are associated with a subsequent lower risk of kidney failure in patients with chronic kidney disease. The SGLT2 inhibitor dapagliflozin significantly reduced albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes and normal or near-normal kidney function. Whether this effect persists in patients with chronic kidney disease with and without type 2 diabetes is unknown. We assessed the effects of dapagliflozin on albuminuria in patients with chronic kidney disease with and without type 2 diabetes in the dapagliflozin and prevention of adverse outcomes in chronic kidney disease (DAPA-CKD) trial. DAPA-CKD was a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial done at 386 sites in 21 countries. Patients were eligible for the trial if they had chronic kidney disease, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) between 25 mL/min per 1·73 m2 and 75 mL/min per 1·73 m2 and a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) between 200 mg/g and 5000 mg/g (22·6 to 565·6 mg/mmol). Participants were randomly assigned to dapagliflozin 10 mg (AstraZeneca; Gothenburg, Sweden) once daily or matching placebo, in accordance with the sequestered, fixed randomisation schedule, using balanced blocks to ensure an approximate 1:1 ratio. Change in albuminuria was a pre-specified exploratory outcome of DAPA-CKD. Regression in UACR stage, defined as a transition from macroalbuminuria (≥300 mg/g) to microalbuminuria or normoalbuminuria (<300 mg/g), and progression in UACR stage, defined as a transition from less than 3000 mg/g to 3000 mg/g or greater, were additional discrete endpoints. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03036150. Between Feb 2, 2017, and April 3, 2020, 4304 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to either dapagliflozin (n=2152) or placebo (n=2152). Median UACR was 949 mg/g (IQR 477 to 1885). Overall, compared with placebo, dapagliflozin reduced geometric mean UACR by 29·3% (95% CI -33·1 to -25·2; p<0·0001); relative to placebo, treatment with dapagliflozin resulted in a geometric mean percentage change of -35·1% (95% CI -39·4 to -30·6; p<0·0001) in patients with type 2 diabetes and -14·8% (-22·9 to -5·9; p=0·0016) in patients without type 2 diabetes over the follow-up visits (pinteraction<0·0001) Among 3860 patients with UACR of 300 mg/g or greater at baseline, dapagliflozin increased the likelihood of regression in UACR stage (hazard ratio 1·81, 95% CI 1·60 to 2·05). Among 3820 patients with UACR less than 3000 mg/g at baseline, dapagliflozin decreased the risk of progression in UACR stage (0·41, 0·32 to 0·52). Larger reductions in UACR at day 14 during dapagliflozin treatment were significantly associated with attenuated eGFR decline during subsequent follow-up (β per log unit UACR change -3·06, 95% CI -5·20 to -0·90; p=0·0056). In patients with chronic kidney disease with and without type 2 diabetes, dapagliflozin significantly reduced albuminuria, with a larger relative reduction in patients with type 2 diabetes. The similar effects of dapagliflozin on clinical outcomes in patients with or without type 2 diabetes, but different effects on UACR, suggest that part of the protective effect of dapagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease might be mediated through pathways unrelated to reduction in albuminuria. AstraZeneca.

Using error-estimation to probe the psychological processes underlying contextual interference effects.

Although the learning benefits of interleaved practice schedules relative to blocked schedules are well-reported, the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully understood. Researchers have generally suggested that random schedules of practice increase task-related information processing which arises due to switching between variations of the same task (or switching between different tasks). Thus, one potentially useful way to both probe and manipulate contextual interference is to pair it with error estimation during practice. Forced error estimation increases task-related information processing and recording these estimates provides insight into learners' self-awareness of their errors. In the present study, 84 participants were randomly allocated to four groups. Participants practiced a timing task under blocked or random schedules, with and without error estimations prior to feedback. During the acquisition phase, three target times were trained (1500, 1700, 1900ms), with feedback delivered after every trial. We used delayed post-tests (24 hrs later) to evaluate the retention of these target times and their transfer to two new target times (1600, 1800ms). Participants who practiced with a random schedule performed worse (i.e., greater absolute error) than those with a blocked schedule during acquisition (p=.006); however, randomly scheduled participants also showed reduced error (p=.004) on the retention and transfer tests. Although prompting error estimations led to greater self-reported mental effort being invested on the task (p=.001), error estimation was not reliably associated with superior learning (p=.133). The accuracy of error estimations did not differ as a function of practice structure (p=.070), although the accuracy of error estimations improved during acquisition (p=.006). Findings highlight the robustness of the contextual interference effect, but we did not find evidence that error estimations moderated the effect on this task. It is in some ways surprising that we found an effect of contextual interference, as past-work suggests that interference effects are attenuated (or eliminated) when participants switch between different parameters of the same task. We speculate that this might be due to the difficulty of the task; even though participants switched between parametric variations of the same task, the distinction between parameters was subtle (i.e., tenths of a second).

Parallel random matrix particle swarm optimization scheduling algorithms with budget constraints on cloud computing systems

Nowadays, increasing number of Internet of Things and mobile Internet application services are migrated to cloud computing systems. One of the most important cloud challenges for this business is to optimize services cost. The efficient way to deal with this challenge is to improve the performance of resource management and task scheduling in cloud systems. However, this kind of service scheduling is a typical combinatorial optimization problem, and it is difficult to obtain the optimal solution. In this study, we first formalize this cloud services on virtual machines (VMs) with budget constraints scheduling problem. Then, we propose a random matrix particle swarm optimization scheduling algorithm (RMPSO), which uses the random integer matrix to represent its position and a feasible task scheduling scheme, to achieve the optimal total cost of cloud services. However, the drawback of this solution for large-scale systems is its high time complexity. Therefore, we propose two parallel RMPSO algorithms: CPU parallel algorithm (M-RMPSO) on multi-core system with shared memory and manycore GPU-accelerated strategy (G-RMPSO) to reduce its time complexity. Finally, the rigorous performance evaluation results clearly show that our proposed G-RMPSO outperforms M-RMPSO and existing FMPSO, HYBRID (MPSO+MCSO) in terms of cloud services total cost and algorithm execution time. Therefore, our proposed GPU-accelerated G-RMPSO algorithm is very suitable for cloud service scheduling.

Assessment of animal management and habitat characteristics associated with social behavior in bottlenose dolphins across zoological facilities.

Bottlenose dolphins are a behaviorally complex, social species that display a variety of social behaviors. Because of this, it is important for zoological facilities to strive to ensure animals display species-appropriate levels of social behavior. The current study is part of the multi-institutional study entitled “Towards understanding the welfare of cetaceans in zoos and aquariums” commonly referred to as the Cetacean Welfare Study. All participating facilities were accredited by the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and/or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Behavioral data were collected on 47 bottlenose dolphins representing two subspecies, Tursiops truncatus and Tursiops aduncus, at 25 facilities. The social behaviors of group related activity (group active) as well as interacting with conspecifics (interact with conspecific) were examined for their relationships to both animal management factors and habitat characteristics. The behavioral state of group active and the rate of interact with conspecific were both positively related to the frequency of receiving new forms of environmental enrichment. Both were inversely related to the random scheduling of environmental enrichment. Additional results suggested interact with conspecific was inversely related with daytime spatial experience and that males displayed group active more than females. Overall, the results suggested that animal management techniques such as the type and timing of enrichment may be more important to enhance social behavior than habitat characteristics or the size of the habitat. Information gained from this study can help facilities with bottlenose dolphins manage their enrichment programs in relation to social behaviors.

Sensitivity to error during visuomotor adaptation is similarly modulated by abrupt, gradual, and random perturbation schedules

It has been suggested that sensorimotor adaptation involves at least two processes (i.e., fast and slow) that differ in retention and error sensitivity. Previous work has shown that repeated exposure to an abrupt force field perturbation results in greater error sensitivity for both the fast and slow processes. Although this implies that the faster relearning is associated with increased error sensitivity, it remains unclear what aspects of prior experience modulate error sensitivity. In the present study, we manipulated the initial training using different perturbation schedules, thought to differentially affect fast and slow learning processes based on error magnitude, and then observed what effect prior learning had on subsequent adaptation. During initial training of a visuomotor rotation task, we exposed three groups of participants to either an abrupt, a gradual, or a random perturbation schedule. During a testing session, all three groups were subsequently exposed to an abrupt perturbation schedule. Comparing the two sessions of the control group who experienced repetition of the same perturbation, we found an increased error sensitivity for both processes. We found that the error sensitivity was increased for both the fast and slow processes, with no reliable changes in the retention, for both the gradual and structural learning groups when compared to the first session of the control group. We discuss the findings in the context of how fast and slow learning processes respond to a history of errors.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We investigated what aspects of prior experience modulate error sensitivity, within the framework of a two-state model of short-term sensorimotor adaptation. We manipulated initial training on a visuomotor adaptation reaching task using specific perturbation schedules that are thought to differentially affect fast and slow learning processes, and we tested what effect these had on subsequent adaptation. We found that sensitivity to adaptation error was similarly modulated by abrupt, gradual, and random perturbation schedules.

Effect of GreenshellTM mussel on osteoarthritis biomarkers and inflammation in healthy postmenopausal women: a study protocol for a\xa0randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial

BackgroundNew Zealand Greenshell™ mussels (GSM; Perna canaliculus) have recently been shown to decrease cartilage degradation in a rat model of induced metabolic osteoarthritis (MetOA). However, this effect has not been investigated in human subjects. This study aims to determine the effect of GSM powder on biomarkers of cartilage metabolism, bone resorption, and inflammation in New Zealand healthy overweight/obese postmenopausal women who are at early stage or at high risk of OA.MethodFifty overweight or obese (BMI 25–35 kg/m2) postmenopausal women (aged 55–75 years) will be recruited by advertisement. Participants will be randomized based on a double-blind randomization schedule and stratified randomization based on BMI and age distribution. The participant will be assigned with a 1:1 allocation ratio to receive 3 g/d whole meat GSM powder or placebo (sunflower seed protein) for 12 weeks. Data on socio-demographics, physical activity, and dietary intake will be collected for each subject. Cartilage turnover biomarkers [(C-telopeptide of type II collagen (CTX-II), C-propeptide of type II procollagen (CPII), Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP)], and bone resorption marker (CTX-I) will be measured in blood and urine samples. Inflammatory status (hs-CRP and cytokine panel) will be assessed and iron status will be measured. Body composition including fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), and fat percentage will be measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Joint pain and knee function will be assessed using a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaire, respectively.DiscussionThis trial will be the first to explore the effects of whole meat GSM powder on cartilage turnover, bone resorption, and inflammation biomarkers in overweight/obese postmenopausal women. The results from this trial will provide evidence on the efficacy of GSM in the prevention of OA.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN12620000413921p. Registration on 27 March 2020.

Full versus partial thickness flap to determine differentiation and over keratinization of non‐keratinized mucosa. A 3‐year split mouth randomized pilot study

ObjectivesIt was shown, that Connective Tissue Grafts (CTG) retrieved from the tuberosity tends to determine hyperplastic responses and may induce a beneficial over‐keratinization of non‐keratinized mucosa. Clinically evaluate and compare CTG from tuberosity ability to increase soft tissue thickness and the keratinization potential after recipient area is either prepared using split or full thickness flap in edentulous mandible.Materials and methodsFourty implants were placed in 10 edentulous patients with atrophied mandible (Class IV of Misch) presenting less than 1.0 mm of keratinized tissue using a flapless approach and immediately restored with acrylic temporary bridge on multi‐unit abutments. The surgical sites were split‐mouth randomized and prepared as CTG recipients by a tunneling procedure. Twenty benefited of a partial thickness approach and 20 of a full thickness one. The CTG was placed buccally using partial thickness or full thickness flap according to the randomization schedule. The width of keratinized tissue (KT), the horizontal soft tissue thickness (STT), the marginal hard and soft tissue levels as well as the implant success parameters were collected and analyzed.ResultsAfter a 3 year follow‐up period the increase of KT was statistically significantly (p < 0.001) larger in the partial thickness group from 0.6(0.6) to 5.1(0.72) mm, while full thickness group showed very little improvement from 0.5(0.51) to 1(0.57) mm (p < 0.001). STT was significantly increased in both groups over time: from 2.4(0.88) to 5.4(0.68) mm in full thickness group and from 2.5(0.51) to 5.8(0.41) mm in partial thickness group without any significant difference between the groups.ConclusionThe increase of soft tissue thickness by using CTG from tuberosity was found in both groups, while keratinization of non‐keratinized mucosa appeared more in the partial thickness group.

Splint Therapy for treatment of Anterior Disc Displacement with reduction

The aim of the study is to assess the efficacy of the Lingual Ring Splint (LS), anterior repositioning splint (ARS) and stabilizing splint (SS) in management of anterior disc displacement with reduction (DDWR) for the relief of pain and improving mandibular movements. Thirty patients diagnosed with DDWR were included in this study. The participants were randomly assigned into one of three equal groups using a computer-generated randomization schedule receiving the assigned splint for each group, with specific instructions regarding the time of using it and exercises. Follow up was made after 1 and 6 months to test pain score and mandibular range of motion. Pain score improved in all 3 groups with statistical significance with better results is SS group than other two splints. Also, there was an increase in maximum mouth opening (MMO) with the highest measurements in SS group with statistical significance difference. There was no statistical difference regarding lateral excursion between all groups.

On the Distributed Construction of Stable Networks in Polylogarithmic Parallel Time

We study the class of networks, which can be created in polylogarithmic parallel time by network constructors: groups of anonymous agents that interact randomly under a uniform random scheduler with the ability to form connections between each other. Starting from an empty network, the goal is to construct a stable network that belongs to a given family. We prove that the class of trees where each node has any k≥2 children can be constructed in O(logn) parallel time with high probability. We show that constructing networks that are k-regular is Ω(n) time, but a minimal relaxation to (l,k)-regular networks, where l=k−1, can be constructed in polylogarithmic parallel time for any fixed k, where k&gt;2. We further demonstrate that when the finite-state assumption is relaxed and k is allowed to grow with n, then k=loglogn acts as a threshold above which network construction is, again, polynomial time. We use this to provide a partial characterisation of the class of polylogarithmic time network constructors.

Capsimax Increases Resting Energy Expenditure in Males Under Fasting State: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled, Cross-Over Study

Abstract Objectives Obesity is caused by an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Resting energy expenditure (REE) represents the calories burned at rest and accounts for &amp;gt; 60% of total energy expenditure. Energy expenditure plays an important role in obesity development, hence an increase in REE could facilitate body weight reduction. Capsaicinoids, extracted from capsicum annuum have been known to increase metabolism, lipolysis &amp; induce satiety. The study objective was to evaluate the effects of Capsimax™ on REE and thermal sensation. Methods This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, cross-over study. Efficacy analysis included subsets of 17 males and 7 females who received single dose of Capsimax™ 100 mg (2 mg total capsaicinoids) and placebo in a cross-over fashion with washout period of 3–6 days as per randomization schedule. REE was measured using Cosmed Q-NRG by indirect calorimetry. Secondary objectives were Area under curve (AUC) for REE, VO2, VCO2 &amp; subject's innate thermal sensation using American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) scale. REE, VO2, VCO2, ASHRAE scale were evaluated at 0 (pre-dose), 1, 2, 3 &amp; 4 hours and additional measures for ASHRAE scale at 0.5 &amp; 1.5 hours post-dose. Safety was assessed throughout the study with measurements of ECG, blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature &amp; adverse event occurrences. Results In males, CapsimaxTM consumption significantly increased (p &amp;lt; 0.05) the change in REE at 1 hr (+90.19 ± 36.99 kcal Vs -92.97 ± 35.95 kcal), 2 hr (+77.17 ± 35.12 kcal Vs -41.90 ± 35.12 kcal), 3 hr (+48.47 ± 38.60 kcal Vs −51.74 ± 37.69 kcal) &amp; 4 hr (+30.17 ± 40.37 kcal Vs −43.88 ± 40.37 kcal) as compared to placebo. Significant differences (p &amp;lt; 0.05) were also seen for AUC0–2 REE, VO2 at 1, 2 &amp; 3 hrs and VCO2 at 3 hrs for CapsimaxTM versus placebo. Although not significantly different, subject's in CapsimaxTM group showed higher feelings of warmth at all time points post dose based on ASHRAE score versus placebo. No significant differences were observed for any of the endpoints in females. No safety issues or adverse events were seen. Conclusions Our study findings demonstrate that CapsimaxTM supplementation increases REE in males and may represent a useful nutritional strategy to help weight management efforts. Funding Sources OmniActive Health Technologies Ltd.

Least-Squares Gaussian Beam Transform for Deblending Distance-Separated Simultaneous Sources

Simultaneous-source acquisition saves enormous acquisition costs and greatly enhances the quality of seismic data. However, it brings challenges to subsequent data processing due to the intense interferences of neighbor sources. Deblending is one of the methods to solve the problem of crosstalk noise. The deblending applied in the shot domain does not require the random scheduling that is used in the conventional simultaneous-source acquisition, so it has more flexibility. However, because the records of different sources show continuous traces in common shot gathers, they have the same characteristics and are difficult to separate directly. In this article, we use the least-squares Gaussian beam transform (LSGBT) to separate the useful seismic signals from crosstalk noise in the distance-separated simultaneous-sourcing (DSSS) survey and propose a novel deblending framework based on the LSGBT in the shot domain. Unlike most state-of-the-art Gaussian beam approaches that construct Gaussian beams in the frequency domain, the LSGBT constructs time-domain Gaussian beams, which can be considered as functions of amplitude, position, dip field, and so on. The essence of the proposed algorithm is that the blended data can be decomposed into the Gaussian beams that represent different dip-angle components. Thus, the single-source seismic records can be reconstructed in terms of a carefully selected combination of dip-oriented Gaussian beams. Two synthetic examples and one field data example show that the iterative deblending scheme based on LSGBT obtains better performance than the conventional frequency-wavenumber-based methods.

Replacing permuted block design with big stick design in stratified randomization

The PBD (Permuted Block Design) is the most widely used randomization method in clinical trials due to its comparatively simplicity. However, greater selection bias may appear, especially in open-labeled trials, because the PBD requires absolute balance at the end of each block . The BSD(Big Stick Design) method is one of the MTI(Maximum Tolerated Imbalance) procedures, which can make the allocation process more unpredictable while maintaining the advantages the PBD. So it is theoretically superior to the PBD method. However, some practical problems in stratified randomization hinder the application of the BSD method: such as the risk of serious imbalance for entire trials with the increasing of strata, the uncertainty of the reproducibility of randomization schedule, and the danger of greater selection bias in extreme cases. We propose solutions to the above three implementation problems, and explores the feasibility and effects of the solutions through simulations.

Noise covariance estimation for networked linear systems under random access protocol scheduling

This paper investigates the noise covariance estimation problem for the networked linear system under communication protocol. To reduce network burden and avoid data collisions, the data transmission from the sensor nodes to the filter is scheduled by the random access protocol (RAP), where only a sensor node is permitted to send data at each transmission instant. Within the framework, the correlations of the innovations data are utilized to construct a least-squares problem to estimate the noise covariances, where a novel estimation form of the auto-covariance from measurement data is given. Moreover, the two cases of the process noise correlated and uncorrelated with the measurement noise are both discussed. It can be proved that the estimated covariances are unbiased and asymptotically converge to the true values as the sample size increasing. Finally, the simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented method.