Thunderstorm-related asthma - The epidemic of 24/25 June 1994

BACKGROUND: A large epidemic of asthma occurred following a thunderstorm in southern and central England on 24/25 June 1994. A collaborative study group was formed. OBJECTIVES: To describe the epidemic and the meteorological, aerobiological and other environmental characteristics associated with it. METHODS: Collation of data from the Meteorological Office, the Pollen Research Unit, the Department of the Environment's Automatic Urban Network, from health surveillance by the Department of Health and the National Poisons Unit, from clinical experience in general practice and hospitals, and from an immunological study of some of the affected cases from north east London. RESULTS: The thunderstorm was a Mesoscale Convective System, an unusual and large form of storm with several centres and severe wind gusts. It occurred shortly after the peak grass pollen concentration in the London area. A sudden and extensive epidemic occurred within about an hour affecting possibly several thousand patients. Emergency services were stretched but the epidemic did not last long. Cases had high serum levels of IgE antibody to mixed grass pollen. CONCLUSION: This study supports the view that patients with specific IgE to grass pollen are at risk of thunderstorm-related asthma. The details of the causal pathway from storm to asthma attack are not clear. Case-control and time series studies are being carried out

Marine Applications of Natural Fibre-Reinforced Composites: A Manufacturing Case Study

The rising concern towards environmental issues and the need to find a realistic alternative to glass or carbon reinforced composites has led to an increased interest about polymer composites filled with natural-organic fillers, hence derived from renewable and biodegradable sources. The scope of this article is to raise awareness regarding the scientific and technological knowledge of the so-called green composite materials in order to support their larger application in a number of industry sectors. A general state of art of green composites is proposed, together with some experimental evidences on the mechanical proprieties for various ecological materials. As a practical demonstrator of this sustainable technology, the adoption of green composites as valid replacement of fiberglass in sailing and ships applications is also described here. This article will illustrate, in fact, step by step and in great detail, the Wet Lay-up Hand Laminating process used to realize a yacht deck hatch in ecological composite materials

Under the bridge: An in-depth examination of online trolling in the gaming context

Trolling is a subject of apparent academic confusion; the few studies conducted thus far yielded a variety of conflicting definitions regarding what constitutes trolling behaviour and little information regarding trolling motivations. In order to shed further light on this phenomenon, the present study aimed to (1) determine which behaviours actual trolls consider as trolling, (2) explore the motivations behind trolling, and (3) examine the online community’s response to trolling as perceived by the troll. After performing semi-structured interviews with 22 self-confessed trolls, we found that there is a variety of behaviours trolls consider trolling which can now be put in clear categories based on target and method. Three key motivations to troll emerged: personal enjoyment, revenge, and thrill-seeking. Trolling also appears to be a cyclical, self-perpetuating phenomenon enabled by the online community at large. Theoretical implications for future trolling research are also discussed

Single-dose tafenoquine to prevent relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria

Background Treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria requires the clearing of asexual parasites, but relapse can be prevented only if dormant hypnozoites are cleared from the liver (a treatment termed “radical cure”). Tafenoquine is a single-dose 8-aminoquinoline that has recently been registered for the radical cure of P. vivax. Methods This multicenter, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel group, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in Ethiopia, Peru, Brazil, Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines. We enrolled 522 patients with microscopically confirmed P. vivax infection (>100 to Results In the intention-to-treat population, the percentage of patients who were free from recurrence at 6 months was 62.4% in the tafenoquine group (95% confidence interval [CI], 54.9 to 69.0), 27.7% in the placebo group (95% CI, 19.6 to 36.6), and 69.6% in the primaquine group (95% CI, 60.2 to 77.1). The hazard ratio for the risk of recurrence was 0.30 (95% CI, 0.22 to 0.40) with tafenoquine as compared with placebo (P Conclusions Single-dose tafenoquine resulted in a significantly lower risk of P. vivax recurrence than placebo in patients with phenotypically normal G6PD activity. (Funded by GlaxoSmithKline and Medicines for Malaria Venture; DETECTIVE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01376167. opens in new tab.)</p