Kanthal (Sweden)

Objectives: To describe the level of control of asthma and the factors associated with poorly controlled asthma in children registered at the Paediatric Clinic at Base Hospital, Kanthale in the Trincomalee District of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and to identify co-morbid factors associated with poorly controlled asthma.. Method: It was a prospective cross sectional study conducted in the Paediatric Clinic at Base Hospital Kanthale. Data was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire from 88 physician diagnosed asthma patients. Asthma Therapy Assessment Questionnaire (ATAQ) was used to assess asthma control. Results: Majority of patients (75%) had poorly controlled asthma. Statistically significant associations were noted between poorly controlled asthma and incorrect inhaler technique (p Conclusions: In our study 75% had poorly controlled bronchial asthma. Poor control of bronchial asthma was significantly associated with incorrect inhaler technique, poor compliance to steroid inhaler, allergic rhinitis, gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and exposure to cigarette smoke at home. (Key words: Bronchial asthma; level of control; ATAQ questionnaire) Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health , 2014; 43 (4): 208-211 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljch.v43i4.7763

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Methods Results and Discussion Summary References

The initial oxidation behaviour of a Mo(Si,Al)2-based composite (Kanthal Super ER) was investigated. The microstructures of unexposed reference specimens and samples oxidized isothermally in air at 1450°C for 5 and 50 minutes and also at 1500°C for 5 minutes were evaluated.Thin foil specimens were prepared using a focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope and analysed in an SEM with scanning transmission electron microscopy detectors and an energy dispersive X-ray system for high-resolution imaging and chemical analysis.The samples formed relatively pure α-Al2O3 scales during the oxidation. The Al supply to the growing alumina scale is mainly provided by the Mo(Si,Al)2 phase in the bulk material. The outward Al transport is counterbalanced by inward diffusion of Si into Mo(Si,Al)2. Therefore an Al poor Mo5(Si,Al)3 phase forms directly below the scale. The Al concentration in the subjacent Mo(Si,Al)2 decreased to 20 at.%, corresponding to Mo(Si1.4,Al0.6).

Abstract Toughening effect of ZrO2-particles on MoSi2-based materials is one of the important toughening mechanism. In this work, the influence of particle size and volume percentage of unstabilized ZrO2-addition on toughening in MoSi2-matrix composites was studied. The measured data revealed that the fine particle size, < 1 ìm, with certain volume percentages around 20% have given more effective toughening results. The tested materials were prepared by two different sintering processes: pressure-less sintering (PLS) and PLS + Hipping sintering. The results on sintered density, RT-hardness and RT-toughness indicated that the PLS process could be a practical and economical method for producing MOSi2-ZrO2 composites in industry. Oxidation behavior of MoSi2-ZrO2 composites was also studied in the work. Clearly, the ZrO2-addition made the composites having a worse oxidation resistance than the monolithic MoSi2, which means that a low ZrO2-addition should be used in the composites, as far as an acceptable toughening effect was reached.