"In Class We Were All One." A Qualitative Exploration of Yoga and Educational Interventions for Predominantly Low-Income and Minority Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain.

Introduction: Chronic low back pain (cLBP) can be physically and psychologically debilitating and disproportionally afflicts vulnerable populations. Yoga and education are increasingly common interventions for cLBP yet are understudied in low-income and minority adults. The objective of this qualitative study was to understand the yoga and self-care experience of adults with cLBP from urban, underserved communities who were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial that included these treatments. Methods: We interviewed 26 (18 yoga and 8 education) participants. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis with codes developed inductively from data. Results: Participants from both yoga and education groups reported initial apprehension and ambivalence toward their respective intervention. However, physical and psychological benefits were noted, mainly in the form of improved pain self-management. Communal support and camaraderie reported by the yoga group was absent and desired by education participants. Social factors impeding the ability to sustain yoga practice included transportation, access, and cost, whereas education participants described literacy and language challenges and a general lack of motivation to read the book. Conclusion: Yoga and education are viable treatments for adults with cLBP who live in underserved neighborhoods. However, social stigma and socioeconomic barriers may hinder their uptake. Communal support in group-based nonpharmacological treatments is valued and may contribute to participation and clinical outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01343927.

Investigation of zone migration in a current rectifying nanofluidic/microfluidic analyte concentrator.

A simple microfluidic device that uses a nanocapillary membrane (NCM) to connect a microfluidic channel and solution reservoir is capable of rectifying ionic current and enrichment of ionic species. Application of a potential induces concentration polarization (CP), which creates ion-depleted and ion-enriched zones on opposite sides of the permselective NCM. A force balanced (FB) enriched zone forms at the interface of the bulk buffer solution and depleted CP zone in the off state or the low-current case. After polarity reversal, the migration of a FB enriched zone of anionic tracer is imaged. By decreasing the solution volume at the microchannel and NCM interface, the response time of the current rectifier is decreased and elution of the zone of anionic tracer is achieved. The decrease in response time is most dramatic for the on to off state transition. For this transition, the response time decreases from approximately 50 to approximately 1 s. The decrease in response time for the off to on state is not as dramatic and is characterized by the time from polarity reversal to current peak, which decreased from 84 to 21 s. The features in the I-t plots can be accounted for with schematics of the zone migration that show the migration of depleted CP and enriched CP zones. Together, the fluorescent images and the I-t plots provide the foundation for schematics that describe the zone elution following polarity reversal. These results provide an improved understanding of the zone migration and current rectification in nanofluidic-microfluidic interfaces with symmetric nanochannels.

Ionic current rectification at a nanofluidic/microfluidic interface with an asymmetric microfluidic system.

A nanofluidic-microfluidic interface is reported that rectifies ionic current using uncoated symmetric nanocapillaries. Previously, ionic current rectification has been achieved by other groups with nanochannels with differential coatings and in nanopores that are conical in shape. This simple device uses nanocapillary membranes (NCMs) with uncoated symmetric channels to connect a microfluidic channel and a larger solution reservoir. The conductivity of the solution in the microchannel appears to be critical in the formation of the low "off" state current and the high "on" state current. It is hypothesized that the "off" state current is low due to the formation of an ion depletion zone in the microchannel while the higher "on" state currents are produced by a zone of enhanced ionic concentration in the microchannel.