At each visit, the parents completed the Pediatric Asthma Caregiver’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ).
Results One hundred and one children and 101 caregivers completed the study. We found a significant correlation between asthma diary score in children and QOL in parents (from r = -0.46 to r = -0.53). We also found significant positive correlation between PAQLQ and PACQLQ and significant association between changes in asthma
control and PACQLQ score for both domains. We observed significant change in PACQLQ of caregivers whose children obtained asthma control.
Conclusions PACQLQ is a useful tool for monitoring asthma in children. The implementation of the PACQLQ would be helpful in involving parents in Selleckchem AZ 628 therapy of their children with asthma.”
“Mechanical and electrical properties of carbon fiber (CF) and vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been thoroughly investigated in
previous studies. Growth of radially aligned CNTs on silicon oxide (SiO2) coated CF has recently been accomplished resulting in PF-562271 multiscale composite fiber (CNT/SiO2/CF). CNT/SiO2/CF offers promise as stress and strain sensors in CF reinforced composite materials. However, to date there have been no investigations of the electromechanical properties of CNT/SiO2/CF that would facilitate their usage as sensors in composite materials, which is the focus of this research. This study investigates fundamental mechanical and electrical properties of CF, SiO2/CF (SiO2 coated CF), and CNT/SiO2/CF during localized transverse compression at low loads (mu N to mN) and small displacements (nm to a few mu ms). Force, strain, stiffness, and electrical resistance were
monitored simultaneously during compression experiments. For CF, resistance decreased sharply upon compressive loading with hysteresis in both force and resistance being observed at low strain. For SiO2/CF, high resistance and negligible electrical conduction occurred, and the force-displacement curve was linear. CNT/SiO2/CF stiffness increased as force and strain increased and became EX-527 comparable to that of CF at high strain (similar to 30%). Hysteresis in both force-displacement and resistance-displacement curves was observed with CNT/SiO2/CF, but was more evident as maximum strain increased and did not depend on strain rate. Force was higher and resistance was lower during compression as compared to decompression. Hysteretic energy loss is associated with internal friction between entangled CNTs. Van der Waals force between deformed and entangled CNTs hindered disentanglement, which reduced the number of electrical current paths and increased resistance during decompression. The results of this study provide new understanding of the mechanical and electrical behavior of CNT/SiO2/CF that will facilitate usage as stress and strain sensors in both stand-alone and composite materials applications. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.