Theatre of the oppressed and environmental justice communities: a transformational therapy for the body politic.

Community Environmental Forum Theatre at UTMB-NIEHS Center in Environmental Toxicology uses Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) to promote involvement of citizens, scientists, and health professionals in deconstructing toxic exposures, risk factors, and cumulative stressors that impact the well-being of communities. The TO process encourages collective empowerment of communities by disseminating information and elaborating support networks. TO also elicits transformation and growth on a personal level via a dramaturgical system that restores spontaneity through image-making and improvisation.

Moderate increases in ambient PM2.5 and ozone are associated with lung function decreases in beach lifeguards.

Objective: Exposure to pollutants would adversely affect lung function of healthy athletes.

Methods: Pulmonary function was recorded on beach lifeguards at three different times during the day. Daily and average peak pollutant levels were calculated.

Addressing asthma in Texas: development of a school-based asthma surveillance program for Texas elementary schools.

To address asthma in the state, in October 2000, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and the American Lung Association of Texas held a joint meeting of asthma professionals from across the state, with a primary purpose of identifying major issues and potential strategies and actions to be taken. These discussions became the basis of the 2001 Texas State Asthma Plan, which has since been adopted to guide state efforts in asthma surveillance, management, education, and advocacy. The primary purpose of this project, which was conducted with and funded by the DSHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been to develop and implement an asthma surveillance program for Texas school-aged children.

Clearing the air: a model for investigating indoor air quality in Texas schools.

This pilot project focused on the assessment of indoor air quality at a local high school in Galveston, Texas, using methods based on guidelines for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program.

IkappaB kinase is a critical regulator of chemokine expression and lung inflammation in respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major etiologic agent of severe epidemic lower respiratory tract infections in infancy. Airway mucosal inflammation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of RSV disease in both natural and experimental infections. RSV is among the most potent biological stimuli that induce the expression of inflammatory genes, including those encoding chemokines, but the mechanism(s) that controls virus-mediated airway inflammation in vivo has not been fully elucidated.

Asthma epidemiology: risk factors, case finding, and the role of asthma coalitions.

Asthma has no cure, and given that clinicians still do not understand what causes it in the first place, it is not preventable. With implementation of environmental control measures to minimize exposure to allergens and irritants, appropriate pharmacologic therapy, and patient and health care provider education, the disease can be managed successfully. Health care access and appropriate case management are essential components of any plan to address asthma as a public health problem.