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This study explores the connection between tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical column density levels and asthma hospitalization cases in Louisiana from 2005 to 2020. Utilizing NO2 data from NASA's Ozone Measurement Instrument (OMI) aboard the Aura satellite, the research integrates these atmospheric measurements with socioeconomic data at the census tract level. This study employs a generalized linear mixed model (GLIMMIX) with a logit link and Beta distribution to analyze the relationship between seasonal NO2 levels and asthma hospitalization cases during winter, fall, spring, and summer. By analyzing OMI data, this research quantifies seasonal variations in NO2 levels and their corresponding impact on asthma hospitalizations. The findings reveal a relationship between NO2 levels and asthma hospitalizations, particularly in communities with high Black and/or low-income populations, with the strongest effects observed during winter. Specifically, the analysis shows that, for each unit increase in NO2 levels, the odds of asthma-related hospitalizations increase by approximately 26.3% (p < 0.0001), with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 23.3% to 29.5%. Assuming a causal link between NO2 and asthma, these findings suggest that reducing NO2 emissions could alleviate healthcare burdens associated with respiratory diseases such as asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey information was used to develop a minimum cost spatial dairy manure transportation model where environmental quality and crop nutrient requirements were treated as constraints. The GIS model incorporated land use types, exact locations of dairy farms and farmlands, road networks, and distances from each dairy farm to receiving farmlands to identify dairy manure transportation routes that minimized costs relative to environmental and other constraints. Our analyses indicated that the characteristics of dairy manure, its bulk and relatively low primary N, P(2)O(5) and K(2)O nutrient levels limit the distribution areas or distances between the farms and the land over which the manure can be economically spread. Physical properties of the land limit the quantities of nutrients that can be applied because of excess nutrient buildup in soil and potential to harm nearby waterbodies and downstream people and places. Longer distances between dairy and farmland favor the use of commercial fertilizers due to the high cost of manure transportation. At $0.08 per ton per km transportation cost, the optimal cut-off distances for dairy manure application is 30km for N and 15km each for P(2)O(5) and K(2)O consistent rules. An analysis of dairy manure application to different crop types suggest that, on average, 1ha of land requires 61 tons of dairy manure to meet the recommended N, P(2)O(5) and K(2)O needs.