Smartphone apps for the self-management of low back pain: A systematic review

Guidelines for low back pain (LBP) often recommend the use of self-management such as unsupervised exercise, booklets, and online education. Another potentially useful way for patients to self-manage LBP is by using smartphone applications (apps). However, to date, there has been no rigorous evaluation of LBP apps and no guidance for consumers on how to select high-quality, evidence-based apps. This chapter reviews smartphone apps for the self-management of LBP and evaluates their content quality and whether they recommend evidence-based interventions. This chapter shows that generally app developers are selecting interventions that are endorsed by guidelines, although their quality is low. There are many apps available for the self-management of LBP, but their effectiveness in improving patient outcomes has not been rigorously assessed. App developers need to work closely with healthcare professionals, researchers, and patients to ensure app content is accurate, evidence based, and engaging

Physical activity and education about physical activity for chronic musculoskeletal pain in children and adolescents

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows:. To evaluate the effectiveness of physical activity or education about physical activity, or both, compared to active medical care, waiting list, or usual care in children and adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), via Cochrane Infrastructure funding to the Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Review Group (PaPaS)

Mg II h + k emission lines as stellar activity indicators of main sequence F-K stars

The main purpose of this study is to use the IUE spectra in the analysis of magnetic activity of main sequence F-K stars. Combining IUE observations of MgII and optical spectroscopy of Ca II, the registry of ctivity of stars can be extended in time. We retrieved all the high-resolution spectra of F, G, and K main sequence stars observed by IUE (i.e. 1623 spectra of 259 F to K dwarf stars). We obtained the continuum surface flux near the Mg II h+k lines near 2800 \AA and the MgII line-core surface flux from the IUE spectra. We obtained a relation between the mean continuum flux near the MgII lines with the colour $B-V$ of the star. For a set of 117 nearly simultaneous observations of Mg II and Ca II fluxes of 21 F5 to K3 main sequence stars, we obtained a colour dependent relation between the Mount Wilson CaII S-index and the MgII emission line-core flux. As an application of this calibration, we computed the Mount Wilson index for all the dF to dK stars which have high resolution IUE spectra. For some of the most frequently observed main sequence stars, we analysed the Mount Wilson index S from the IUE spectra, together with the ones derived from visible spectra. We confirm the cyclic chromospheric activity of epsilon Eri (HD 22049) and beta Hydri (HD 2151), and we find a magnetic cycle in alpha Cen B (HD 128621). Complete abstract in the paper.Comment: 10 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Polaris the Cepheid returns: 4.5 years of monitoring from ground and space

We present the analysis of 4.5 years of nearly continuous observations of the classical Cepheid Polaris, which comprise the most precise data available for this star. We have made spectroscopic measurements from ground and photometric measurements from the WIRE star tracker and the SMEI instrument on the Coriolis satellite. Measurements of the amplitude of the dominant oscillation (P = 4 days), that go back more than a century, show a decrease from 120 mmag to 30 mmag (V magnitude) around the turn of the millennium. It has been speculated that the reason for the decrease in amplitude is the evolution of Polaris towards the edge of the instability strip. However, our new data reveal an increase in the amplitude by about 30% from 2003-2006. It now appears that the amplitude change is cyclic rather than monotonic, and most likely the result of a pulsation phenomenon. In addition, previous radial velocity campaigns have claimed the detection of long-period variation in Polaris (P > 40 days). Our radial velocity data are more precise than previous datasets, and we find no evidence for additional variation for periods in the range 3-50 days with an upper limit of 100 m/s. However, in the WIRE data we find evidence of variation on time-scales of 2-6 days, which we interpret as being due to granulation.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 8 pages. Quality of figures 1+3+7 degrade

Hubble Space Telescope WFPC-2 Imaging of Cassiopeia A

The young SNR Cassiopeia A was imaged with WFPC-2 through four filters selected to capture the complete velocity range of the remnant's main shell in several important emission lines. Primary lines detected were [O III] 4959,5007, [N II] 6583, [S II] 6716,6731 + [O II] 7319,7330 + [O I] 6300,6364, and [S III] 9069,9532. About 3/4th of the remnant's main shell was imaged in all four filters. Considerable detail is observed in the reverse-shocked ejecta with typical knot scale lengths of 0.2"-0.4" (1 - 2 x 10^16 cm). Both bright and faint emission features appear highly clumped. Large differences in [S III] and [O III] line intensities indicating chemical abundance differences are also seen, particularly in knots located along the bright northern limb and near the base of the northeast jet. A line of curved overlapping filament in the remnant's northwestern rim appears to mark the location of the remnant's reverse shock front in this region. Finger-like ejecta structures elsewhere suggest cases where the reverse shock front is encountering the remnant's clumped ejecta. Narrow-band [N II] images of the remnant's circumstellar knots ("QSFs") reveal them to be 0.1"-0.6" thick knots and filaments, often with diffuse edges facing away from the center of expansion. Three color composite images of the whole remnant and certain sections along with individual filter enlargements of selected regions of the bright optical shell are presented and discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures Accepted to the Astronomical Journa

Analysis of alpha Centauri AB including seismic constraints

Detailed models of alpha Cen A and B based on new seismological data for alpha Cen B by Carrier & Bourban (2003) have been computed using the Geneva evolution code including atomic diffusion. Taking into account the numerous observational constraints now available for the alpha Cen system, we find a stellar model which is in good agreement with the astrometric, photometric, spectroscopic and asteroseismic data. The global parameters of the alpha Cen system are now firmly constrained to an age of t=6.52+-0.30 Gyr, an initial helium mass fraction Y_i=0.275+-0.010 and an initial metallicity (Z/X)_i=0.0434+-0.0020. Thanks to these numerous observational constraints, we confirm that the mixing-length parameter alpha of the B component is larger than the one of the A component, as already suggested by many authors (Noels et al. 1991, Fernandes & Neuforge 1995 and Guenther & Demarque 2000): alpha_B is about 8% larger than alpha_A (alpha_A=1.83+-0.10 and alpha_B=1.97+-0.10). Moreover, we show that asteroseismic measurements enable to determine the radii of both stars with a very high precision (errors smaller than 0.3%). The radii deduced from seismological data are compatible with the new interferometric results of Kervella et al. (2003) even if they are slightly larger than the interferometric radii (differences smaller than 1%).Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Vortex Structure Around a Magnetic Dot in Planar Superconductors

The problem of the giant vortex state around a magnetic dot which is embedded in a superconducting film is investigated. The full non-linear, self-consistent Ginzburg-Landau equations are solved numerically in order to calculate the free energy, the order parameter of the host superconductor, the internal magnetic field due to the supercurrents, the corresponding current density, the magnetization probed in the vicinity of the dot, and the normal electron density as a function of the various parameters of the system. We find that, as we increase the magnetic moment of the dot, higher flux quanta vortex states become energetically more favorable, as they can better compete with the external magnetic field via the Meissner effect. In addition to that, they progressively become closer to each other in energy with direct experimental consequences, i.e. physical quantities like magnetization may fluctuate when measured, for example, as a function of a uniform external magnetic field.Comment: text 21 pages (REVTEX), 8 figures available upon reques