New research suggests that there is a strong connection present between persistent exposure to air pollution, as well as poor asthma control.

The study carried out by researchers was composed of 481 adults diagnosed with the inflammatory airway disease called asthma. The details provided by the adults about their respiratory condition from 2003 and 2007 were compared to the levels of pollution in the air in five particular cities where the participants have lived in France.

The researchers examined the levels of ozone, nitrous oxide and particulate matter in the air. These three components are the types of air pollution.

According to the study, about 44% of the adults had good asthma control, 29% had fair asthma control and 27% had poor asthma control. The study says older people and women were more prone to have uncontrollable asthma.

Results of the study suggest that there is a strong connection between very poor asthma control and levels of particulate matter and ozone. The chances of having poor asthma control was 69% higher among those exposed to ozone for a very long time and 35% for those exposed to particulate matter.

Asthma is an airway disease that manifested by shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and chest tightness. It is genetically-inherited, but can be triggered by several environmental factors. As of 2010, about 300 million people were affected by this condition.

The researchers concluded in a journal news release that both ozone and particulate matter concentration in the air jeopardize the control of asthma in adults. They say their findings are very strong.

We have all heard crazy stories about how people would push, strike, and kill to get the latest Apple gadget and Apple lovers are well-known for that. That kind of devotion to Apple products what makes the company what it is now. However, selling a body part to afford and iPad 2 is definitely something I have never heard of before.

Based on a featured story in Global Times, a teenager in China’s Anhui province desperately wanted to get the latest iPad2 tablet and sold his one of his kidneys to afford it. Zheng, a 17-year old high school student, said that he really wanted to buy an iPad2 but did not have the monetary resources to afford it. A broker got hold of him via the internet and said he can help Zhen.

The broker was very true to his word and helped Zheng get 20,000 yuan (about $3,000) in exchange of one of his kidneys. The operation was done and completed on 28^th of April.

Zheng’s mother had no idea what her son is up to so she was shocked to see his son with a brand new and expensive Apple iPad2. After she found out how her son got the money, she immediately reported the incident to the authorities. Apparently, they have been trying to track down the broker for a very long time.

How the operation was completed without parental consent, Zhang being a minor is still a puzzle. The authorities, however, are doing every possible thing to put an end to this.

For the first time in a very long time- or at least since the recession started- credit card executives are seeing bright sunny days and are looking far beyond the losses brought by the financial crisis. This is a really good thing considering the fact that the government is planning to tighten their grip on credit card companies.

Over the past few months, credit card company losses are falling. The overwhelming consumer acceptance of the smartphone payment systems and all other technologies has given credit card companies the opportunity to garner long-term revenue growth.

Now, executives strongly believe that they can easily do something to work around the effects of the recent regulatory changes of the card industry.

Credit card executive Stephen Eulie said that he is still very optimistic. There are no negative effects of our current economy that they cannot do something about, he said. Eulie spoke to Reuters in the credit card industry conference conducted every year.

In the recent years, most of the topics discussed in the conference are about the new regulations in place. Talks about the credit card law passed in 2009 and its lingering effects dominated the previous conferences. The Dodd-Frank financial reform law was also constantly a hot topic in the previous years.

However, banks are more positive and credit card companies are tapping new technologies this year to invest in developing countries wherein people use credit card as a luxury and not a necessity.

One of the conference attendee said that that the credit card industry has stopped finding ways to cease the regulations, and started looking for ways on how to get around it.