The final episode of Visions for 2007 is going out with a bang! We take a closer look at research into how blasts and vibrations from quarries affect nearby homes. And in our second story, we take a closer look at a new study which looked at the link between allergy tests and asthma risk. Be sure to check back over the festive season, as we take a look back on year one of Visions.
Blast Impact On Houses:
Quarries have been built in urban areas for decades. They help to build roads and shopping centres. But what impact do the blasts and vibrations have on the local homes? Researches from the Department of Civil and Environmental in the Melbourne School of Engineering are working with industry to find out.
For more information go to http://www.civenv.unimelb.edu.au/research/groups/infrastructure_protection_group/protective.html
Skin Prick Tests Show Asthma Risk:
According to a new study led by the University of Melbourne, in children with eczema, those who have positive skin prick tests for allergy are at three times higher risk of developing asthma than those who have negative skin prick tests.
For more information go to http://www.epi.unimelb.edu.au or http://www.rch.org.au/allergy.
Also see A.J. Lowe, C.S. Hosking, C.M. Bennett, J.B. Carlin, M.J. Abramson, D.J. Hill and S.C. Dharmage: “Skin prick test can identify eczematous infants at risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis”, Clinical and Experimental Allergy 2007 Nov;37(11):1624-31.
Children from this study were recruited by the Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study supported by Nestle Australia and the Asthma Foundation.