Risk factors of occupation related back pain and neck pain among patients attending tertiary care hospital, Ahmedabad, India.

INTRODUCTION: Neck/back pain is one of the common health problems associated with significant impact on health resulting in sickness absenteeism. Neck/back pain is one of important causes of disability adjusted life years worldwide. The objectives of study were: To identify various occupations related risk factors and their possible role in occurrence of back pain/neck pain and visual analogue scale(VAS) assessment of their perceived pain. METHODS: The study was conducted at one of the tertiary care hospital at Ahmedabad city, India. All patients above age of 18 years attending physiotherapy department for treatment of back pain/neck pain and gave consent were taken as study participants. Information about certain body postures in their lifestyle or at workplace which can have effects on back pain/neck pain were asked. VAS for perceived pain was anchored by "no pain" (score 0) and "pain as bad as it could be" (score 100). Data were entered in MS Excel and analyzed by frequency, contingency coefficient and Goodman and Kruskal's Gamma test. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Total of 512 participants were included in study, among which(10.3%)and 392 (76.6%) participants had neck pain and back pain alone, respectively, while 67 (13.1%) participants had both neck and back pain. Age, marital status, socioeconomic class, body mass index and type of occupation revealed statistically significant association with severity of pain. Among participants with prolonged computer usage, back rest fitting to natural back curve and adjustable height of chair were significant factors for occurrence of neck pain. Various body postures like prolonged sitting/ standing, frequent bending at waist/knee, pulling/pushing heavy objects, frequent weight lifting > 10 kg and repetitive movements of back/neck revealed as statistically significant risk factors for back/neck pain.

Impact of DDT spraying on malaria transmission in Bareilly District, Uttar Pradesh, India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Impact of indoor residual spraying of DDT on malaria transmission and vector density was evaluated in six villages of Shergarh PHC, Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh under the operational condition of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) from July 2001 to March 2002 (one transmission season only). METHODS: Two rounds of DDT (50% WDP) spraying @ 1 g/m2 were done both in the experimental and control villages by the state health authorities. The spraying in experimental villages was supervised by Malaria Research Centre (MRC) whereas the district health authorities supervised the operation in control villages. Mass blood surveys were made three times--before the first round, in between the first and second rounds and after the second round of spraying. The blood smears were examined by the trained microscopists of MRC, Haldwani. From the above examinations epidemiological indicators such as slide positivity rate (SPR), slide falciparum rate (SFR) and infant parasite rate (IPR) were calculated. All malaria positive cases were given radical treatment as per NVBDCP schedule. Entomological parameters such as per man hour mosquito density, parity rate, gonotrophic condition and adult susceptibility status of Anopheles culicifacies to diagnostic dosages of DDT (4%) were monitored as per the standard techniques. RESULTS: A total of 988.5 kg of DDT was consumed during two rounds of spray. The house coverage varied from 87 to 95.3%. Parasitological evaluation revealed significant reduction in malaria cases (p < 0.0005) and infant parasite rate declined from 2.9 to 0%. Entomological observations revealed considerable reduction in the density of malaria vector An. culicifacies despite of its 21.4% mortality against DDT test papers. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The overall results of the study revealed that DDT is still a viable insecticide in indoor residual spraying owing to its effectivity in well supervised spray operation and high excito-repellency factor.

Efficacy of a new formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis (Bti) in laboratory and field conditions of Kumaun foothills of Uttaranchal, India.

Efficacy of a new Bti formulation was tested in the laboratory and small scale field trials against mosquito larvae were carried out from March to June, 2001 in different breeding habitats of Kumaun foothill region of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts, Uttaranchal state, India. Laboratory tests revealed increased efficacy against Culex quinquefasciatus (LC50 = 0.035 mg/L) followed by Aedes aegypti (LC50 = 0.0628 mg/L), An. culicifacies sp A (LC50 = 0.184mg/L) and An. stephensi (LC50 - 0.2216mg/L). Results of field trials revealed 100% mortality of mosquito larvae after treatment with Bti @ 0.5 gm/m2 surface area. The impact was similar on different mosquito species breeding in different habitats. However, repeated treatments were required due to reappearance of larvae in the breeding habitats within a week. No side effects of Bti was observed during field trial on non- target organisms (NTOs). Environmental disturbances and man made problems affected the spray impact of Bti.

Malaria outbreak in Bhojpur PHC of district Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Based on the reports of 18 fever related deaths in Bhojpur Primary Health Centre (PHC) of Moradabad District (UP), a study was undertaken during September and October, 2000 to explore the possibility of outbreak of malaria in the area and the reasons of the outbreak. The slide positivity rate (SPR) and slide falciparum rate (SFR) in active fever surveys were found to be 84.7% and 82.2% respectively. Among children the average enlarged spleen and spleen rate were 1.9 and 27.4 per cent respectively. The mortality rate of Anopheles culicifacies in DDT, Malathion and Deltamethrin was 42.5, 86.7 and cent per cent respectively. The results of the study revealed that the outbreak was of malaria with predominance of Plasmodium falciparum causing several deaths in the affected villages. The investigation revealed that there was disruption of surveillance and supervision of malaria activities.

Dynamics of malaria transmission under changing ecological scenario in and around Nanak Matta Dam, Uttaranchal, India.

To understand the transmission dynamics of malaria in three different ecotypes, namely watershed (forest), seepage (Nanak Matta Dam) and plain (non-forest, non-dam) areas of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttaranchal, entomological and parasitological investigations were carried out from July 1996 to June 1997. In the three ecotypes, average per man hour densities of adult vector species in human dwellings and cattlesheds recorded were high for Anopheles culicifacies from April to September and October to March for An. fluviatilis. Prevalence of both An. culicifacies and An. fluviatilis was higher in the forest area as compared to other two areas. Observations on gonotrophic condition revealed endophilic tendency of both vector species. Higher number of both vector species were found in outdoor than indoor during night human bait collections. Out of 864 specimens of An. fluviatilis dissected, one showed natural infection of sporozoites in salivary glands in the month of November from the forest area only. Sibling species study of An. fluviatilis revealed the presence of species S for the first time in the forest area. Parasitological investigations also depicted high incidence of malaria in the forest area as compared to other two areas. Overall results from the study indicated active malaria transmission in the forest area.

Studies on bionomics of Anopheles fluviatilis and its sibling species in Nainital district, U.P.

A study on the bionomics of Anopheles fluviatilis sensu lato was carried out in two physiographic regions, viz. Bhabar and Terai of District Nainital, Uttar Pradesh. In both areas, An. fluviatilis was found resting indoors predominantly in cattlesheds. Cytological examination of An. fluviatilis revealed that species T and U were sympatric in Bhabar and Terai villages with predominance of species T. These two sibling species appear to be poor vectors of malaria.

Anopheles fluviatilis complex: host feeding patterns of species S, T, and U.

The host feeding specificity of Anopheles fluviatilis sibling species S, T, and U was determined by analyzing blood meal source using countercurrent immunoelectrophoresis. A distinct difference in the feeding patterns was observed among these species. Species S was found to be predominantly anthropophagic with 91% of the population having fed on human blood. In contrast, species T and U were either exclusively or primarily zoophagic.

Bionomics of vector anophelines in District Naini Tal, Uttar Pradesh.

Breeding behaviour and seasonal prevalence of vector anopheline in different habitats associated with rice land agroecosystem of terai and bhabar area of District Naini Tal was studied from July 1992 to June 1994. Adult prevalence in both the areas shows two distinct An. fluviatilis peaks in the months of March and October and the breeding places for the species were pokhars in bhabar and stream and irrigation drains in terai. Prevalence of adult An. culicifacies was observed during July to August in bhabar and April and August in terai. In bhabar high immature density of An. culicifacies was noted mainly in tanks, pokhars and paddy fields (early transplantation period). In terai high immature density of An. culicifacies was noted in stream, while low in paddy fields. Higher prevalence of immatures and adult anopheline vectors coincide with peak malaria incidence in both the areas. In bhabar in the months of August and September large number of malaria cases were contributed by An. culicifacies and in November by An. fluviatilis. In terai, malaria cases in April and from June to September were contributed by An. culicifacies, whereas An. fluviatilis might be responsible for transmission in October.

Investigation of malaria outbreak in Rajasthan.

Jaisalmer and Barmer districts in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan experienced an unprecedented rains during 1994 leading to an outbreak of malaria. Investigations were carried out at three sites in two districts (i) Pokaran PHC and (ii) Nachana PHC in Jaisalmer district and Dhorimana in Barmer district during November 1994. Epidemiological and entomological studies in Pokaran PHC revealed presence of small foci of stable malaria. These foci were maintained by large bodies of water (ponds/lakes) drained from surrounding areas and spread over 1 to 5 sq km. Slide positivity rate (SPR), slide falciparum rate (SfR) and child spleen rate (SR) were 60.1, 56.9 and 86.9%, respectively with 3 deaths reported. Adjoining villages experienced epidemic reporting deaths fed by the reservoir from these stable foci. An. culicifacies and An. stephensi were the major malaria vectors. Nachana PHC recorded stable malaria foci of irrigation malaria due to introduction of Indira Gandhi Canal (IGC). SPR, SfR and SR recorded were 52.35, 50.58 and 80.8%, respectively. Transmission appeared to be maintained by An. stephensi, An. culicifacies and An. fluviatilis in relays. An. fluviatilis seems to have established breeding in silted grassy margins of IGC. Dhorimana PHC in border district was also found to be a stable malaria foci although with low malaria indices. However, An. culicifacies and expanded breeding potential of An. stephensi were the main factors in maintaining malaria endemicity in the region.

Wedge-plate shearing interferometers for collimation testing: use of a moiré technique.

Various optical arrangements of a double-wedge-plate shearing interferometer are presented for checking laser beam collimation. The use of moiré fringes is found to be advantageous for setting the shear fringes parallel to the direction of shear in order to obtain a well-collimated laser beam. The experimental procedure and various details of the interferometer are discussed. A brief summary of a few methods for collimation testing that use a wedge plate is also given. The accuracies achievable with shearing interferometers that use a parallel plate, a wedge plate of small angle, a double wedge having a large wedge angle, a wedge plate of large angle along with two flat mirrors, and a wedge plate having a large angle are compared and summarized.

The precision polishing of bismuth silicate and bismuth germanate.

A recipe is given for the polishing of precise surfaces oncrystals of bismuth silicate (BSO) and bismuth germanate(BGO). Using this recipe, crystals having surface figure betterthan 1/10 wave, roughness of 20-50 Å rms, and laserquality parallelism (10 arcsec or better) were obtained withabout 1-2 hours effort.

Gambusia affinis: dispersal due to floods and its failure to colonize new water bodies in Shahjahanpur District (U.P.).

In villages of District Shahjahanpur, 122 decentralized Gambusia multiplication ponds were established to cover the need of the entire district. Profuse breeding of Gambusia was observed in these ponds. The fishes are being successfully used in mosquito control all over the district. In July 1990 there was a widespread flood due to which 70 Gambusia multiplication ponds were affected and the fish was washed away in large numbers, leaving only a scanty population in the flood-affected ponds. We utilized this opportunity to study the natural dispersal and colonization of Gambusia in different aquatic habitats. The study revealed that Gambusia was either not found in most habitats or was present in very small numbers, and on its own Gambusia was unable to eliminate the local fauna to become a dominant species. Predatory fishes and birds played a major role in eliminating Gambusia. Gambusia is therefore unlikely to pose any ecological hazard in vector-control programmes.