OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the impact of different rest periods between short sprint interval training (SSIT) trials on the physiological and performance adaptations of female volleyball players.
METHODS: Twenty-four trained college athletes volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly assigned to 3 SSIT groups with different work-to-rest ratios (1:2 [5-s run:10-s rest], 1:4 [5-s run:20-s rest], and 1:6 [5-s work:30-s rest]). Before and after 6-week training, physiological parameters (maximum oxygen uptake, first and second ventilatory thresholds, and peak and mean power output) and physical performance measures (ie, countermovement vertical jump, 10-m sprint, and T-test change-of-direction speed) were evaluated.
RESULTS: After the training period, all groups improved (P = .001) their sport-related performance and physiological parameters, ranging from moderate to very large effect sizes. Comparative analysis of the magnitude of training effects indicated that the 1:6 SSIT group had in a significantly greater change in countermovement vertical jump (P = .007), 10-m sprint (P = .014), peak power output (P = .019), and mean power output (P = .05) compared with 1:2 SSIT group. By contrast, the 1:2 SSIT group demonstrated significantly (P = .022) greater changes in maximum oxygen uptake than the 1:6 SSIT group. However, the change-of-direction speed and changes in first and second ventilatory thresholds were the same among the groups (P > .05).
CONCLUSIONS: When performing SSIT, longer rest intervals are suitable for physical and anaerobic performance, and shorter rest periods are appropriate for enhancing the cardiorespiratory fitness of female volleyball players\' performance.

In this study, the variations in hydrogen content and oxide content in alloys under 0 W, 500 W, 1000 W, 1500 W, 2000 W, 2500 W, 3000 W, and at 20 kHz, 30 kHz, 40 kHz were investigated. Hydrogen content was assessed using porosity and computed tomography, while oxygen content in the alloy was measured using element analyzer and elemental scanning. Compared to other conditions, the melt had the lowest hydrogen and oxide contents at a frequency of 20 kHz and an ultrasonic power of 2500 W, with values of 0.099 cm3/100 g and 0.0015 %, respectively. Experimental observations also indicate that the variations in hydrogen content and oxide content in the alloy during ultrasonic treatment are almost similar. In most cases, lower hydrogen content corresponds to lower oxide content in the same alloy. This is because hydrogen bubbles and oxides become a single entity. At the same time, ultrasonic purification increases the tensile strength of the alloy to 200.1 MPa and the elongation rate to 0.72 %. This study primarily investigates the relationship between hydrogen bubbles and oxides in aluminum melt under different ultrasonic frequencies and power levels, providing significant reference for the purification of various fluids under ultrasonic fields.

Previous studies found that the abstract concept of power is embodied within space and weight, but there is not a consistent conclusion on the metaphorical relationship between power and colour. The present study adopted three experiments to investigate the metaphorical association between the concept of power and colour perception in Chinese, and how semantic processing and colour perception influence this mapping. Experiment 1 studied the effect of colour perception on the processing of power. The results showed that there was a faster response when high-power words were presented in gold and low-power words were presented in grey. Experiment 2 explored whether priming semantics of power affected colour judgement, and found no significant difference between gold and grey, neither in high-power words nor low-power words. Experiment 3 discovered that participants preferred to connect the golden pseudo words with high-power words and connect the grey pseudo words with low-power words. Overall, the present study substantiated a two-way metaphorical link between colour and power. A metaphorical association is also influenced by the degree of integration of colour into semantics and the depth of semantic processing.

This study utilized a sample of 2052 participants from government and enterprise sectors to explore the distinct effects of power and sense of power on cognitive flexibility. It also delves into how the three dimensions of reward sensitivity and the comprehensive measure of punishment sensitivity mediate this relationship. The key findings are as follows: (1) There is no significant direct correlation between power and sense of power. (2) Both power and sense of power are substantial positive predictors of cognitive flexibility, with middle- and upper-level employees demonstrating significantly greater cognitive flexibility than their lower-level counterparts, and sense of power having a more pronounced positive influence than objective power. (3) Drive and fun-seeking mediate the relationship between sense of power and cognitive flexibility, yet only when sense of power is the independent variable. (4) No mediating effects are observed for the dimensions of reward sensitivity or punishment sensitivity when power is the independent variable. Exploring reward and punishment sensitivity in the context of power\'s influence on cognitive flexibility in real organizational settings is of paramount importance. This enhances our understanding of the intricate ways in which power dynamics shape individual behaviors and cognition across diverse cultural landscapes and provides actionable insights for refining organizational management and leadership strategies.

OBJECTIVE: Performing back squats with elastic bands has been widely used in resistance training. Although research demonstrated greater training effects obtained from adding elastic bands to the back squat, little is known regarding the optimal elastic resistance and how it affects neuromuscular performance. This study aimed to compare the force, velocity, power, and muscle activity during back squats with different contributions of elastic resistance.
METHODS: Thirteen basketball players performed 3 repetitions of the back squat at 85% of 1-repetition maximum across 4 conditions: (1) total load from free weight and (2) 20%, (3) 30%, and (4) 40% of the total load from elastic band and the remaining load from free weight. The eccentric and concentric phases of the back squat were divided into upper, middle, and bottom phases.
RESULTS: In the eccentric phase, mean velocity progressively increased with increasing elastic resistance, and muscle activity of the vastus medialis and rectus femoris significantly increased with the largest elastic resistance in the upper phase (P ≤ .036). In the concentric phase, mean power (P ≤ .021) and rate of force development (P ≤ .002) significantly increased with increasing elastic resistance. Furthermore, muscle activity of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis significantly improved with the largest elastic resistance in the upper phases (P ≤ .021).
CONCLUSIONS: Velocity, power, rate of force development, and selective muscle activity increased as the elastic resistance increased in different phases during the back-squat exercise.

UNASSIGNED: This study aims to analyze the effects of plyometric training (PT) on physical fitness and skill-related performance in female basketball players.
UNASSIGNED: Five databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar, were used to select articles published up to 20 December 2023, using a combination of keywords related to PT and female basketball players. The risk of bias and the certainty of evidence in included articles were assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias (RoB2) tool and \"The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation\" (GRADE).
UNASSIGNED: Ten studies were included for the systematic review, and eight for the meta-analysis, totalling 246 female basketball players aged 14.5-22.5 years. Most of these players were highly trained. Most of the included studies exhibited concerns regarding the risk of bias. The PT programs lasted 4-8 weeks, conducted 2-3 sessions per week, with sessions lasting 20-90 min and including 29-190 jumps. In the systematic review, most studies showed that PT significantly improved performance in countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), Sargent jump, standing long jump, lateral hop, medicine ball throw, t-Test, Illinois agility, lane agility drill, linear 20-m sprint, stable and dynamic leg balance, dribbling, passing, shooting, and various basketball-specific tests, as well as increased muscle volume and thigh cross-sectional area. However, some studies showed PT to induce no significant changes in performance during CMJ, t-Test, Illinois agility, knee extensor/flexor strength, linear sprint, and single leg balance tests. In the meta-analysis, CMJ height (ES = 0.37; p = 0.036), vertical jump (VJ) peak power (ES = 0.57; p = 0.015), VJ peak velocity (ES = 0.26; p = 0.004), and t-Test performance time (ES = 0.32; p = 0.004) were significantly improved with small effects following PT.
UNASSIGNED: The effect of PT on performance in female basketball players was mixed. Most studies indicated that PT could improve various measures of physical fitness and skill-related performance, but performance remained unchanged in some tests. More studies with established tests are needed to investigate the effect of PT on female basketball players in the future.
UNASSIGNED: https://inplasy.com/, Identifier INPLASY2023120078.

Clinical trials with continuous primary endpoints typically measure outcomes at baseline, at a fixed timepoint (denoted Tmin), and at intermediate timepoints. The analysis is commonly performed using the mixed model repeated measures method. It is sometimes expected that the effect size will be larger with follow-up longer than Tmin. But extending the follow-up for all patients delays trial completion. We propose an alternative trial design and analysis method that potentially increases statistical power without extending the trial duration or increasing the sample size. We propose following the last enrolled patient until Tmin, with earlier enrollees having variable follow-up durations up to a maximum of Tmax. The sample size at Tmax will be smaller than at Tmin, and due to staggered enrollment, data missing at Tmax will be missing completely at random. For analysis, we propose an alpha-adjusted procedure based on the smaller of the p values at Tmin and Tmax, termed minP $$ minP $$ . This approach can provide the highest power when the powers at Tmin and Tmax are similar. If the power at Tmin and Tmax differ significantly, the power of minP $$ minP $$ is modestly reduced compared with the larger of the two powers. Rare disease trials, due to the limited size of the patient population, may benefit the most with this design.

UNASSIGNED: This study investigates the efficacy of training methodologies aimed at mitigating asymmetries in lower limb strength and explosiveness among basketball players.
UNASSIGNED: Thirty male university basketball athletes were enrolled in this research. Initial assessments were made regarding their physical attributes, strength, and explosiveness. Subsequently, the participants were randomly allocated into two groups: an experimental group (EG, n = 15) and a control group (CG, n = 15). Over 10 weeks, the EG engaged in a unilateral compound training regimen, incorporating resistance training exercises such as split squats, Bulgarian split squats, box step-ups, and single-leg calf raises (non-dominant leg: three sets of six repetitions; dominant leg: one set of six repetitions) and plyometric drills including lunge jumps, single-leg hops with back foot raise, single-leg lateral jumps, and single-leg continuous hopping (non-dominant leg: three sets of 12 repetitions; dominant leg: one set of 12 repetitions). The CG continued with their standard training routine. Assessments of limb asymmetry and athletic performance were conducted before and after the intervention to evaluate changes.
UNASSIGNED: 1) Body morphology assessments showed limb length and circumference discrepancies of less than 3 cm. The initial average asymmetry percentages in the single-leg countermovement jump (SLCMJ) for jump height, power, and impulse were 15.56%, 12.4%, and 4.48%, respectively. 2) Post-intervention, the EG demonstrated a significant reduction in the asymmetry percentages of SLCMJ height and power (p < 0.01), along with improvements in the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) test metrics (p < 0.05). 3) The EG also showed marked enhancements in the double-leg countermovement jump (CMJ) and standing long jump (SLJ) outcomes compared to the CG (p < 0.01), as well as in squat performance (p < 0.05).
UNASSIGNED: The 10-week unilateral compound training program effectively reduced the asymmetry in lower limb strength and explosiveness among elite male university basketball players, contributing to increased maximal strength and explosiveness.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the applicable conditions of the Cox-TEL (Cox PH-Taylor expansion adjustment for long-term survival data) method for analysis of survival data that contain cured patients.
METHODS: The simulated survival data method based on Weibull distribution was used to simulate and generate the survival data with different cure rates, censored rates, and cure rate differences. The Cox-TEL method was used for analysis of the generated simulation data, and its performance was evaluated by calculating its type Ⅰ error and power.
RESULTS: Almost all the type Ⅰ error of the hazard ratios (HRs) obtained by the Cox-TEL method under different conditions were slightly greater than 0.05, and this method showed a good test power for estimating the HRs for data with a large sample size and a large difference in proportions (DPs). For the data of cured patients, the type Ⅰ error of the DPs obtained by the Cox-TEL method was well around 0.05, and its test power was robust in most of the scenarios.
CONCLUSIONS: The Cox-TEL method is effective for analyzing data of uncured patients and obtaining reliable HRs for most of the survival data with a sample size, a low censored rates, and a large difference in cure rates. The method is capable of accurately estimating the DPs regardless of the sample size, censored rates, or the cure rates.

Dose-scale pharmacodynamic bioequivalence is recommended for evaluating the consistency of generic and innovator formulations of certain locally acting drugs, such as orlistat. This study aimed to investigate the standard methodology for sample size determination and the impact of study design on dose-scale pharmacodynamic bioequivalence using orlistat as the model drug. A population pharmacodynamic model of orlistat was developed using NONMEM 7.5.1 and utilized for subsequent simulations. Three different study designs were evaluated across various predefined relative bioavailability ratios of test/reference (T/R) formulations. These designs included Study Design 1 (2×1 crossover with T1 60 mg, R1 60 mg, and R2 120 mg), Study Design 2 (2×1 crossover with T2 120 mg, R1 60 mg, and R2 120 mg), and Study Design 3 (2×2 crossover with T1 60 mg, T2 120 mg, R1 60 mg, and R2 120 mg). Sample sizes were determined using a stochastic simulation and estimation approach. Under the same T/R ratio and power, Study Design 3 required the minimum sample size for bioequivalence, followed by Study Design 1, while Study Design 2 performed the worst. For Study Designs 1 and 3, a larger sample size was needed on the T/R ratio < 1.0 side for the same power compared to that on the T/R ratio > 1.0 side. The opposite asymmetry was observed for Study Design 2. We demonstrated that Study Design 3 is most effective for reducing the sample size for orlistat bioequivalence studies, and the impact of T/R ratio on sample size shows asymmetry.