Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Development of Dunkin' Pumpkins - a smart snack for kids

School snack bars and vending machines must comply with regulations put into place by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA/FNS). To be classified as a “smart snack,” the product must meet general nutritional regulations by containing 50% or more whole grains by weight, have the first ingredient as a fruit, vegetable, dairy product, or protein, or be a combination food with at least ¼ cup of fruit and/or vegetable. The objective of this study was to develop a “smart snack” geared towards kids and/or teens to be sold within schools. Dunkin’ Pumpkins was the product developed that consist of pumpkin whole grain oat cookies and a vanilla yogurt dip. The cookie contained 51% pumpkin and 39% whole grain oats. The product overall is 100 calories and each component meets the USDA/FNS standards for a “smart snack.” Xanthan gum was added to bind water and improve texture in the cookie, whereas gelatin was added to yogurt for thickening. To characterize Dunkin’ Pumpkins, size, color, texture, and water activity measurements were taken from three batches with three cookies per batch (n=9). The average cookie diameter and thickness was 41.8 ± 0.6 mm and 9.2 ± 0.3 mm. Color measurements for the cookie top averaged L* 44.1 ± 1.4, a* 14.5 ± 0.3, and b* 36.8 ± 2.3. The average peak positive force was 805.8 ± 56.7 g and positive area as 723.4 ± 83.2 g*sec. Water activity of the cookie was 0.96 ± 0.05 and 0.98 ± 0.03 for the yogurt dip. A sensory panel of children ≤ 16 years (n=20) and adults ≥ 18 years (n=20) was conducted. A hedonic scale of 1=dislike extremely to 9=like extremely was used to rate appearance, taste, texture, and overall acceptability of Dunkin’ Pumpkins when tasted as dipped into the yogurt. Children rated overall acceptability and taste as 7.3 ± 1.78 and 7.3 ± 1.71, whereas adults rated overall acceptability and taste as 6.2 ± 1.70 and 6.6 ± 1.61. Adult panelists stated they would purchase this product for $1-2 for their child at a school snack bar, but suggested the cookie could be sweeter and crispier. The amount of spices and honey could increase to yield a sweeter flavor in the cookies, however the total amount of calories may increase. Overall, this product was found to be appealing to children if additional modifications were tested to improve the overall taste and texture of the cookie

Assessing Aspect Modularizations Using Design Structure Matrix and Net Option Value

The Design Structure Matrix (DSM) methodology and the Net Option Value (NOV) model have been used before to show how aspects can add value to a design. Following with an in-depth analysis of that study, this paper demonstrates how aspects can be beneficial as well as detrimental. The structural transformations involved in aspect modularizations are carefully analyzed in the context of DSMs. This analysis exposes the unique reversion effect on dependencies that aspect modules are known for. To capture that effect within the NOV model, we extend its original set of six modular operators with an additional reversion operator. Using a design case study, its NOV worksheet and NOV experiments’ curves are presented to show a simulation of the evolutionary patterns of modules, including aspect modules. These patterns show how subtle dependencies, or the lack of them, bring down, or up, the value of an existing design. Based on the observations made in this case study, preliminary design guidelines for aspects are formulated