Vitamin D and calcium in the prevention of corticosteroid induced osteoporosis: a 3 year followup

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of vitamin D 50,000 units/week and calcium 1,000 mg/day in the prevention of corticosteroid induced osteoporosis. METHODS: A minimized double blind, placebo controlled trial in corticosteroid treated subjects in a tertiary care university affiliated hospital. The sample was 62 subjects with polymyalgia rheumatica, temporal arteritis, asthma, vasculitis, or systemic lupus erythematosus. The primary outcome measure was the percentage change in bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine in the 2 treatment groups from baseline to 36 mo followup. RESULTS: BMD of the lumbar spine in the vitamin D and calcium treated group decreased by a mean (SD) of 2.6% (4.1%) at 12 mo, 3.7% (4.5%) at 24 mo, and 2.2% (5.8%) at 36 mo. In the placebo group there was a decrease of 4.1% (4.1%) at 12 mo, 3.8% (5.6%) at 24 mo, and 1.5% (8.8%) at 36 mo. The observed differences between groups were not statistically significant. The difference at 36 mo was-0.693% (95% CI -5.34, 3.95). CONCLUSION: Vitamin D and calcium may help prevent the early loss of bone seen in the lumbar spine as measured by densitometry of the lumbar spine. Longterm vitamin D and calcium in those undergoing extended therapy with corticosteroids does not appear to be beneficial.     

Algorithms for Scheduling Multi-Level Just-In-Time Production Systems

Many companies are using Just-In-Time (JIT) control systems in their mixed-model multi-level production facilities. When scheduling these facilities the most important objective is to keep a constant rate of usage for every part used by the system. In this paper a mathematical model for scheduling these facilities is studied and techniques for determining good schedules are developed. Procedures for solving very large problems are given.     

Capacity and power control for CDMA microcells

Capacity and power control issues are considered for urban CDMA microcells that operate on channels characterized by log-normal shadowing and Nakagami fading. The effects of fading on the desired and interfering signals, variations in the shadow standard deviation, imperfect power control, and the requiredE _b /N _o for satisfactory link operation are investigated. It is shown that the reverse channel is relatively insensitive, and the forward channel very sensitive, to shadow and fading variations. Power control error is shown to significantly degrade reverse channel capacity. Twobiased forward channel power control strategies are introduced to enhance existing unbiasedbalancing forward channel power control algorithms.This research has been supported by BNR Inc.