Analysis of 175 newborn babies who died in an orphan age

175 newborns who were admitted to an orphanage in the year 1975–1976 and subsequently died are analysed. Illegitimacy was the major cause for abandoning the babies. 46% of the babies were born in hospitals. 5 babies had congenital anomalies and 11 babies had marks of external injury. 58.8% of the babies abandoned were girls, 82.7% of the babies weighed less than 2.5 kgs. and had some degree of intrauterine growth retardation. The major cause of death was infections which accounted for 79.3% of deaths, of which gastroenteritis (43.4%) was the main killer. Septicemia and bronchopneumonia were the two other major infections that contributed to the deaths. Infections were more common in the low weight babies. Gastroenteritis was probably acquired after introduction of top feeds, due to poor hygiene and occured in all age groups. Majority of babies died of septicemia within 7 days of admission suggesting antenatal and natal infections. Chances of survival increased with increasing weight of the baby.     

The Influence of Computer-Mediated Communication Apprehension on Motives for Facebook Use

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of computer-mediated communication apprehension on motives for using the interactive features on Facebook. An online survey was completed by 417 undergraduate students. Guided by uses and gratifications theory, communication apprehension in a computer-mediated context was found to be inversely related to interpersonal, self-expression, entertainment, and passing time motives for using Facebook. This study also investigated how Facebook motives predict the use of its interactive features. Interpersonal communication, self-expression, and entertainment motives all significantly predicted use of interactive features on Facebook.     

Serum Vitamin D Levels in Indian Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Low serum vitamin D level has an increased association with risk of multiple sclerosis (MS).There has been no published data on the levels of this vitamin in Indian population with MS. Hence we decided to undertake this study to document if there is evidence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with MS in our population. 26 patients with diagnosis of MS by modified Mc Donald’s criteria were enrolled in this study. Serum vitamin D (1,25 hydroxy) levels were measured by electro-chemiluminescence in our biochemistry lab. An age-matched control group of 202 patients who did not have a diagnosis of MS were included. In our study group 76.9 % had vitamin D level less than 20 ng/ml compared to 65.5 % of control group (p value of 0.019). Our study revealed a trend towards low vitamin D values in Indian MS patients.     

Selection of Undergraduate Freshmen using Discriminant Analysis

This study’s main purpose was to determine whether or not standard predictors of college “success” might perform more satisfactorily than usual if a 2-valued criterion based on dropouts was employed. Discriminant analysis, when applied to 624 matriculants at the University of Pennsylvania, identified correctly 93 percent of the graduates and 88 percent of the academic dropouts. A small sample of students, who applied to the University of Pennsylvania but did not matriculate, was examined. A rough cost comparison estimated that failure to use the discriminant analysis procedure was in one sense costing the University of Pennsylvania about $333, 000 per year in the late 1960’s.