Essential Medicines at the National Level : The Global Asthma Network's Essential Asthma Medicines Survey 2014

Patients with asthma need uninterrupted supplies of affordable, quality-assured essential medicines. However, access in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited. The World Health Organization (WHO) Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Global Action Plan 2013-2020 sets an 80% target for essential NCD medicines' availability. Poor access is partly due to medicines not being included on the national Essential Medicines Lists (EML) and/or National Reimbursement Lists (NRL) which guide the provision of free/subsidised medicines. We aimed to determine how many countries have essential asthma medicines on their EML and NRL, which essential asthma medicines, and whether surveys might monitor progress. A cross-sectional survey in 2013-2015 of Global Asthma Network principal investigators generated 111/120 (93%) responses41 high-income countries and territories (HICs); 70 LMICs. Patients in HICs with NRL are best served (91% HICs included ICS (inhaled corticosteroids) and salbutamol). Patients in the 24 (34%) LMICs with no NRL and the 14 (30%) LMICs with an NRL, however no ICS are likely to have very poor access to affordable, quality-assured ICS. Many LMICs do not have essential asthma medicines on their EML or NRL. Technical guidance and advocacy for policy change is required. Improving access to these medicines will improve the health system's capacity to address NCDs.Peer reviewe

Temperature dependent photoluminescence from carbon nanotubes

The temperature dependence of the photoluminescence intensity from frozen single walled carbon nanotube solutions is reported. This is modelled assuming that it is dominated by the small energy splitting between the dark and bright states of the singlet excitons which are found to be in the region of 1-5 meV for nanotubes of 0.8-1.2nm. The luminescence is strongly enhanced by a magnetic field along the tube axis due to the mixing of the different valley states of the excitons

Role of bright and dark excitons in the temperature-dependent photoluminescence of carbon nanotubes.

We report studies of the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence efficiency of single walled carbon nanotubes which demonstrate the role of bright and dark excitons. This is determined by the energy splitting of the excitons combined with 1-D excitonic properties. The splitting of the bright and dark singlet exciton states is found to be only a few meV and is very strongly diameter dependent for diameters in the range 0.8-1.2 nm. The luminescence intensities are also found to be strongly enhanced by magnetic fields at low temperatures due to mixing of the exciton states

Temperature and magnetic field dependent photoluminescence from carbon nanotubes

Photoluminescence as a function of temperature and magnetic field from single walled carbon nanotube solutions is described. This is modelled assuming that it is dominated by the small energy splitting between the dark and bright states of the singlet excitons which are found to be in the region of 1-5 meV for nanotubes of 0.8-1.2nm. The emission energies show a large red-shift due to the introduction of an Aharanov-Bohm phase by magnetic field along the tube axis and the luminescence intensity is strongly enhanced at low temperatures due to the mixing of the different valley states of the excitons. © World Scientific Publishing Company