Assessment of Vitamin D status In Patients of Chronic Low Back Pain of Unknown Etiology

Low back pain is very disabling and dispiriting because of the physical impediment it causes and its psychological effects. Innumerable factors have been implicated in its etiology. In spite of improvements in diagnostic modalities, a considerable number of such cases fall in the ambiguous zone of unknown etiology or ‘idiopathic.’Early diagnosis of low back pain will allow effective prevention and treatment to be offered. This study was conducted to assess the contribution of vitamin D levels and other biochemical factors to chronic low back pain in such cases. All patients attending the orthopedics OPD for low back pain in whom a precise anatomical cause could not be localized, were prospectively enrolled in this study. We measured serum levels of glucose, calcium, phosphorus, uric acid, rheumatoid factor, C reactive protein, alkaline phosphatase, total protein, albumin and 25 (OH) D concentrations in 200 cases and 200 control samples. The patients showed significantly lower vitamin D levels compared to controls with p value < 0.0001. The maximum number of low back pain patients were in the age group of 31–50 years (42 %).The average BMI was 23.27 ± 5.17 kg/sq m, 73 % of total patient population were females and 27 % were known case of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Calcium, alkaline phosphatase, was positively correlated with vitamin D and glucose showed a negative correlation with vitamin D in the patient population. The problem of low back pain provides a challenge to health care providers. The problem in developing countries is compounded by ignorance to report for early treatment and occupational compulsions in rural areas and sedentary lifestyle in urban youth. The authors strongly recommend early frequent screening for vitamin D along with glucose, protein, albumin, calcium, phosphorus, CRP as part of general health checkup for non-specific body pain, especially low back pain.     

Liquid dielectrophoresis and surface microfluidics

Liquid dielectrophoresis (L-DEP), when deployed at microscopic scales on top of hydrophobic surfaces, offers novel ways of rapid and automated manipulation of very small amounts of polar aqueous samples for microfluidic applications and development of laboratory-on-a-chip devices. In this article we highlight some of the more recent developments and applications of L-DEP in handling and processing of various types of aqueous samples and reagents of biological relevance including emulsions using such microchip based surface microfluidic (SMF) devices. We highlighted the utility of these devices for on-chip bioassays including nucleic acid analysis. Furthermore, the parallel sample processing capabilities of these SMF devices together with suitable on- or off-chip detection capabilities suggest numerous applications and utility in conducting automated multiplexed assays, a capability much sought after in the high throughput diagnostic and screening assays.     

Evaluating the quality of interaction in asynchronous discussion forums in fully online courses

Fully online courses are becoming progressively more popular because of their “anytime anywhere” learning flexibility. One of the ways students interact with each other and with the instructors within fully online learning environments is via asynchronous discussion forums. However, student engagement in online discussion forums does not always take place automatically and there is a lack of clarity about the ideal role of the instructors in them. In this article, we report on our research on the quality of discussion in fully online courses through analysis of discussion forum activities. We have conducted our research on two large fully online subjects for computing students over two consecutive semesters and used a grounded theoretic approach for data analysis. Our results reveal what students and instructors consider as quality interaction in fully online courses. We also propose two frameworks based on our findings that can be used to ensure effective online interaction.     

Bohr’s philosophy of wave-particle complementarity

In this article, after briefly providing the pertinent historical background, the underlying motivation and essence of Bohr’s idea of wave-particle complementarity are explained. To what extent the Bohrian notion of complementarity is relevant in the modern context is discussed. Bohr’s belief in the generality of the complementarity framework is also touched upon.     

计算机汉字字体著作权保护

一、有关计算机汉字字体案例回顾2007年,北京北大方正电子有限公司（以下简称“方正”）就其“方正字体’向美国暴雪娱乐有限公司（以下简称“暴雪”）提起着作权侵权诉讼,称暴雪在大陆运营的游戏《魔兽世界》中,未经方正许可,大量复制、使用了方正自主研发、编写、集合而成的方正字库中五款方正字体,包括方正北魏楷书、方正剪纸、方正细黑一等,     

无线:未来互联网"冲击波"

上期,栏目刊载了NSF无线移动计划编制组WMPG发布的研究报告中“无线网络在下一代互联网中的应用”内容,本期将刊载“无线对网络体系结构的挑战;未来无线网络的部署策略;无线网络研究的实验基础架构”等内容。下期,栏目将刊载“小组的主要发现和建议”内容。     

The sensitivity and precision of search terms in Phases I, II and III of the Cochrane Highly Sensitive Search Strategy for identifying reports of randomized trials in medline in a specific area of health care--HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment interventions

OBJECTIVES: To detect term(s) in the Cochrane Highly Sensitive Search Strategy (HSSS) that retain high sensitivity but improve precision in retrieving reports of trials in the PubMed version of medline. METHODS: Individual terms from the PubMed version of the HSSS were added, term by term, to an African HIV/AIDS strategy to identify reports of trials in medline using PubMed. The titles and abstracts of the records retrieved were read by two handsearchers and checked by a clinical epidemiologist. The sensitivity and precision of each term in the three phases of the HSSS were calculated. RESULTS: Of 7,719 records retrieved, 285 were identified as reports of trials [204 randomized (RCTs); 81 possibly randomized or quasi-randomized (CCTs)]. Phase III had the highest sensitivity (92%). Overall, precision was very low (3.7%). One term, 'random*[tw]', retrieved all RCTs found by our search and improved precision to 29%. The least sensitive terms, yielding no records, were '(doubl* AND mask*)[tw]' and terms containing 'trebl*' or 'tripl*', except for '(tripl* AND blind*)[tw]'. The highest precision per term was for 'Double-blind Method [MeSH]' (76%). CONCLUSIONS: To retrieve all RCTs and CCTs found by our search, seven terms are needed but precision remains low (4.3%). Developments in the methods of search strategy design may help to improve precision while retaining high levels of sensitivity by identifying term(s) which occur frequently in relevant records and are the most efficient at discriminating between different study designs.     

Developing a geographic search filter to identify randomised controlled trials in Africa: finding the optimal balance between sensitivity and precision

Background: Research on identifying trials using geographic filters is limited. Objectives:  To test the sensitivity and precision of a filter to identify African randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: We searched medline and embase for RCTs published in 2004 using a Cochrane filter for RCTs. The search was limited to HIV/AIDS but irrespective of location. Two investigators independently identified African RCTs from the retrieved records forming a reference set. We then repeated the search using an African geographic filter comprising country and regional terms forming the filter set. We compared the sensitivity and precision of the sets. Results: The medline reference set comprised 1799 records with 23 African RCTs; for embase , the reference set comprised 763 records with 37 African RCTs. The medline filter set comprised 180 records with 17 African RCTs; the embase filter set comprised 98 records with 27 African RCTs. Sensitivity of the filter was 74% (medline ) and 73% (embase ). Addition of the filter improved precision from 1.3% to 9.4% (medline ) and from 5% to 28% (embase ). Conclusion: The African filter improved precision with some loss in sensitivity. Incomplete reporting of trial location in electronic bibliographic records restricts efficiency of geographic filters. Prospective trial registration should alleviate this.     

畅想无线网络的应用

2005年7月,美国国家自然科学基金会NSF资助了一个项目。这个项目的目标是:整合大学、公司和政府中无线移动和传感器网络研究者的研究成果,创新网络结构,并且整理这些成果成为一个连贯的议程。这个计划极大地促进了无线网络的研究发展。这些研究者汇聚在一起,被称为NSF无线移动计划编制组WMPG。不久前,工作组发表了该项目的报告。从本期起,本刊将选择报告中的重点内容进行连续登载。