Improving asthma symptoms using asthma action plans

Asthma is a chronic disorder characterized by airflow obstruction, causing chest tightness, wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. In California, 7.9% of patients have an asthma diagnosis. The 2007 NHLBI Expert Panel Report 3 recommended using asthma action plans in asthma management (NHLBI, 2007). Patients with asthma were taught to use an AAP to improve asthma control. Overall, 80% of patients improved by at least one EPR3 asthma control category

A global, spatially-explicit assessment of irrigated croplands influenced by urban wastewater flows

When urban areas expand without concomitant increases in wastewater treatment capacity, vast quantities of wastewater are released to surface waters with little or no treatment. Downstream of many urban areas are large areas of irrigated croplands reliant on these same surface water sources. Case studies document the widespread use of untreated wastewater in irrigated agriculture, but due to the practical and political challenges of conducting a true census of this practice, its global extent is not well known except where reuse has been planned. This study used GIS-based modeling methods to develop the first spatially explicit estimate of the global extent of irrigated croplands influenced by urban wastewater flows, including indirect wastewater use. These croplands were further classified by their likelihood of using poor quality water based on the spatial proximity of croplands to urban areas, urban wastewater return flow ratios, and proportion of wastewater treated. This study found that 65 percent (35.9 Mha) of downstream irrigated croplands were located in catchments with high levels of dependence on urban wastewater flows. These same catchments were home to 1.37 billion urban residents. Of these croplands, 29.3 Mha were located in countries with low levels of wastewater treatment and home to 885 million urban residents. These figures provide insight into the key role that water reuse plays in meeting the water and food needs of people around the world, and the need to invest in wastewater treatment to protect public health

N-[4-(Phenyl­imino­meth­yl)phen­yl]acetamide 0.67-hydrate

The title compound, C15H14N2O·0.67H2O, was prepared by the reaction of 4-acetoamine­benzaldehyde and aniline. The asymmetric unit contains six organic mol­ecules and four water mol­ecules. The dihedral angles between the aromatic ring planes in each organic mol­ecule vary from 42.4 (2) to 53.8 (2)°. In the crystal, an extensive network of inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯N and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into [010] chains

Tris[bis­(2-methyl­prop­yl)dithio­phosphinato]bis­muth(III)

The title compound, [Bi(C8H18PS2)3], contains a BiIII cation surrounded by three bis­(2-methyl­prop­yl)dithio­phosphinate anions, leading to a distorted octa­hedral coordination for the heavy metal. The Bi—S and S—P bond lengths are in the ranges 2.7694 (18)–2.8391 (17) and 2.019 (2)–2.035 (2) Å, respectively. The crystal structure is consolidated by C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds. Intra­molecular C—H⋯π inter­actions also play a role in stabilizing the mol­ecules

Effects of Diagenesis on the Reservoir Quality in the Upper Sands of Lower Goru Formation, Badin Block, Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan

The core samples of B member of upper sand reservoir rocks of the lower Goru Formation from three wellsof the Badin block were studied using thin section, XRD, and SEM techniques to investigate the diagenetic trends andtheir effect on reservoir quality. Microscopic study indicates that the B sand unit is mature with quartz as thepredominant mineral constituent with variable amount of feldspar and lithic minerals. The QFL plot indicates that mostof the samples are plotted in the field of quartz arenite, sub-litharenite and sub-arkose respectively. A few samplesbelong to the category of litharenite and feldspathic litharenite. The feldspars were partially to completely altered tokaolinite and other clay minerals. Coarse-crystalline or micro-crystalline calcite is the predominant cementing material.Bulk rock XRD analysis also confirms that the main mineral constituents of there samples are quartz and calcite invariable proportions. The undulose extinction and fracturing of quartz grains indicate that the area remained understress. Moreover, such fracturing is post-depositional and therefore is the product of late diagenesis. Scanning ElectronMicroscopic (SEM) images at 50 micrometer (μm) size show irregular type of fracturing within the quartz grains. Thislate stage fracturing of quartz has also generated various types of channels which may serve as secondary porosity. Thequartz overgrowth was observed in some samples due to late stage diagenesis. The micro-crystalline cement in the formof calcite is mostly present within the pores in fractured quartz. The results indicate that the diagenesis played asignificant role in improving the reservoir characteristics of B sand by increasing the porosity due to quartz fracturing,feldspar dissolution, alteration and quartz corrosion. Hence, better understanding of reservoir heterogeneities inporosity through diagenetic studies can be helpful in evaluating potential reservoir horizons for hydrocarbonaccumulation on spatial and temporal scales

Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Epoxy-Composites: Electrical And Mechanical Characterization

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) got great attention because of their interesting physical and mechanical properties. Due to these interesting properties observed at the nanoscale have motivated scientific community to utilize CNTs as reinforcement in composite materials. In the present study, different CNTs and epoxy nano-composites with different wt% (1, 2, 3, and 4%) of f-MWCNTs were prepared and their surface morphology and orientation has been investigated in detail. Further, the surface investigation, electrical and mechanical tests were carried out on CNTs-filled and unfilled epoxy at maximum sonication time 30 minute to identify the loading effect on the properties of the materials. Experimental results depicts well dispersion of f-MWCNTs, significant improvement that the resistivity of pure epoxy decreased from 108 .m to average value 103 .m with 1, 2, 3, and 4wt% f-MWCNTs. The 4.5wt% CNTs/epoxy was attributed to poor dispersion of f-MWCNTs in the nanocomposte. The hardness of nanocomposite loading 1, 2, 3, 4wt% of CNTs, increased 20.7%, 23.02%, 25.62%, 29.09% respectively as compared to pure epoxy. We believe that our strategy for obtaining CNT–reinforced epoxy nanocomposites is a very promising technology and will open a new doors in fields of aviation, aerospace, marine and sporting goods

Phylogeny of fish-infecting Calyptospora species (Apicomplexa: Eimeriorina)

There are numerous species of apicomplexans that infect poikilothermic vertebrates, such as fishes, and possess unique morphological features that provide insight into the evolution of this important phylum of parasites. Here, the relationship of the fish-infecting Calyptospora species to other coccidians was investigated based on DNA sequence analysis. Genetic data from the small subunit ribosomal DNA region of the genome were obtained for three of the five nominal species in the genus Calyptospora. Phylogenetic analyses supported a monophyletic lineage sister to a group composed of mostly Eimeria species. The monophyly of Calyptospora species supports the validity of the family Calyptosporidae, but the sister relationship to Eimeria species might also suggest the Eimeriidae be expanded to encompass Calyptospora. The validity of the family Calyptosporidae has been questioned because it is delineated from the Eimeriidae largely based on life cycle characteristics and sporocyst morphology. In general, Eimeria species have a homoxenous life cycle, whereas the type species of Calyptospora is heteroxenous. In the absence of experimental transmission studies, it may be difficult to demonstrate whether all Calyptospora species are heteroxenous. Other distinct morphological characteristics of Calyptospora such as an incomplete sporocyst suture, an apical opening for sporozoite release, a thin veil surrounding sporocysts supported by sporopodia, and a lack of Stieda and sub-Stieda bodies suggest there may be adequate features to delineate these taxa. Even without life cycle data for all species, the morphology and genetic data provide a means to reliably classify Calyptospora species. Placement in either the Calyptosporidae or Eimeriidae is discussed, along with issues relating to the phylogeny of the genus Goussia

Considerations for reducing food system energy demand while scaling up urban agriculture

There is an increasing global interest in scaling up urban agriculture (UA) in its various forms, from private gardens to sophisticated commercial operations. Much of this interest is in the spirit of environmental protection, with reduced waste and transportation energy highlighted as some of the proposed benefits of UA; however, explicit consideration of energy and resource requirements needs to be made in order to realize these anticipated environmental benefits. A literature review is undertaken here to provide new insight into the energy implications of scaling up UA in cities in high-income countries, considering UA classification, direct/indirect energy pressures, and interactions with other components of the food–energy–water nexus. This is followed by an exploration of ways in which these cities can plan for the exploitation of waste flows for resource-efficient UA. Given that it is estimated that the food system contributes nearly 15% of total US energy demand, optimization of resource use in food production, distribution, consumption, and waste systems may have a significant energy impact. There are limited data available that quantify resource demand implications directly associated with UA systems, highlighting that the literature is not yet sufficiently robust to make universal claims on benefits. This letter explores energy demand from conventional resource inputs, various production systems, water/energy trade-offs, alternative irrigation, packaging materials, and transportation/supply chains to shed light on UA-focused research needs. By analyzing data and cases from the existing literature, we propose that gains in energy efficiency could be realized through the co-location of UA operations with waste streams (e.g. heat, CO2, greywater, wastewater, compost), potentially increasing yields and offsetting life cycle energy demands relative to conventional approaches. This begs a number of energy-focused UA research questions that explore the opportunities for integrating the variety of UA structures and technologies, so that they are better able to exploit these urban waste flows and achieve whole-system reductions in energy demand. Any planning approach to implement these must, as always, assess how context will influence the viability and value added from the promotion of UA