Re: Episode 1.15 Torrent
Chris Troupe
Don't feed wildlife, that is a statement we preach 365 days a year. We want our wildlife to be wild, these animals are not pets. We are all for people caring for wildlife and wanting to do something to help, but what people may not know is when they put food out for wildlife that is harmful to them in many ways. It is also illegal to feed big game in Colorado and there are human safety risks that come when people feed wildlife. In this episode of Colorado Outdoors we discuss the topic with our wildlife pathologist and a wildlife officer from the Castle Rock region.
Using a morphometric dating method and the S-A (channel slope vs. drainage area) power law relation, the history of tectonic uplift and valley downcutting was investigated in the catchments of the Ten Kongduis (ten ephemeral streams) in Inner Mongolia, China, for the past ca. 5 Ma. These streams drain an area of the northern Ordos Plateau and flow northward into the Hetao Basin where they eventually debouch into the Yellow River. To derive reasonable ages of tectonic perturbation in catchments with obviously different widths between their lower and upper sections, an index was constructed for removing the effect of geometric irregularity on the morphometric ages. The morphometric analysis discloses an episode of tectonic uplift in the study area as early as 2.2-5.8 Ma, an episode or episodes of tectonic uplift after 1.15-0.50 Ma, and an episode of base level fall starting from 0.025-0.036 Ma. In the period of 1.15-0.50 Ma, the eastern stream catchments were uplifted from 0.99-1.15 Ma, a middle stream catchment was uplifted after 0.74 Ma, and a western stream catchment was uplifted after 0.50 Ma. The episode of base level fall after 0.025-0.036 Ma was detected only in some western streams, presumably indicating a recent subsidence episode of the western part of the Hetao Basin. After the episode of tectonic uplift dated to 2.2-5.9 Ma, equilibrium longitudinal profiles were formed in the streams and preserved in the sources of some streams. By comparing the elevations of the projected equilibrium profiles based on their S-A power law relations with the current ones, and considering the valley downcutting of the equilibrium profiles in the past 0.5-1.15 Ma, the largest valley downcutting magnitude upstream of the southernmost fault between the Ordos Plateau and the Hetao Basin in two western and three eastern streams was found to be in the ranges of 142-194 m and 52-145 m, respectively, and the base level fall at the northernmost fault between the plateau and the basin was estimated to be 317 m and 138 m on average for the two western and three eastern streams, respectively.
We investigated the 1-year outcome of children hospitalized for wheezing, paying special attention to the effect of early anti-inflammatory therapy. In addition, we identified risk factors for recurrent wheezing and asthma. Eighty-eight children under 2 years old treated in the hospital for wheezing were followed for 1 year. Nebulized anti-inflammatory therapy was given for 16 weeks: 31 patients received budesonide, 29 patients cromolyn sodium, and 28 control patients received no therapy. The number of subsequent physician-diagnosed wheezing episodes was recorded. Four months of anti-inflammatory therapy did not significantly decrease the occurrence of asthma 1 year later; 45% of patients in the cromolyn group, 42% in the budesonide group, and 61% in the control group had asthma, defined as at least two bronchial obstruction episodes during the 1-year period after the original hospitalization for wheezing. An age over 12 months at the time of the initial bronchial obstructing episode [P=0.009, risk ratio (RR)=5.4, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.53-19.31], failure to identify a viral cause (P=0.0003, RR=12.0, CI=3.16-45.40), history of wheezing (P=0.02, RR=14.6, CI=1.59-132.10), the presence of atopy (P=0.01, RR=5.3, CI=1.47-19.21), a family history of atopy (P=0.03, RR=3.6, CI =1.15-11.12), and serum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) > or = 16 microg/L (P=0.005) were significant risk factors for asthma. We conclude that early anti-inflammatory therapy for 4 months does not significantly decrease the occurrence of asthma during the period of 1 year following hospitalization for the original episode of wheezing. Young children requiring hospital admission for wheezing during a respiratory tract infection are at increased risk of having subsequent asthma if they have wheezed previously, if they have atopy or a family history of atopy, if they have elevated serum ECP, if they are over 12 months of age at the original bronchial obstructive episode, and especially when viral studies are negative.
BackgroundThe risk factors for acute episodes of respiratory disease in current and former smokers who do not have COPD are unknown.MethodsEight thousand two hundred forty-six non-Hispanic white and black current and former smokers in the Genetic Epidemiology of COPD (COPDGene) cohort had longitudinal follow-up (LFU) every 6 months to determine acute respiratory episodes requiring antibiotics or systemic corticosteroids, an ED visit, or hospitalization. Negative binomial regression was used to determine the factors associated with acute respiratory episodes. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for time to first episode and an acute episode of respiratory disease risk score.ResultsAt enrollment, 4,442 subjects did not have COPD, 658 had mild COPD, and 3,146 had moderate or worse COPD. Nine thousand three hundred three acute episodes of respiratory disease and 2,707 hospitalizations were reported in LFU (3,044 acute episodes of respiratory disease and 827 hospitalizations in those without COPD). Major predictors included acute episodes of respiratory disease in year prior to enrollment (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.15-1.24 per exacerbation), airflow obstruction (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.91-0.96 per 10% change in % predicted FEV1), and poor health-related quality of life (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.06-1.08 for each 4-unit increase in St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire score). Risks were similar for those with and without COPD.ConclusionsAlthough acute episode of respiratory disease rates are higher in subjects with COPD, risk factors are similar, and at a population level, there are more episodes in smokers without COPD.
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