Urban air pollution and health inequities: a workshop report.

Over the past three decades, an array of legislation with attendant regulations has been implemented to enhance the quality of the environment and thereby improve the public's health. Despite the many beneficial changes that have followed, there remains a disproportionately higher prevalence of harmful environmental exposures, particularly air pollution, for certain populations. These populations most often reside in urban settings, have low socioeconomic status, and include a large proportion of ethnic minorities. The disparities between racial/ethnic minority and/or low-income populations in cities and the general population in terms of environmental exposures and related health risks have prompted the "environmental justice" or "environmental equity" movement, which strives to create cleaner environments for the most polluted communities. Achieving cleaner environments will require interventions based on scientific data specific to the populations at risk; however, research in this area has been relatively limited. To assess the current scientific information on urban air pollution and its health impacts and to help set the agenda for immediate intervention and future research, the American Lung Association organized an invited workshop on Urban Air Pollution and Health Inequities held 22-24 October 1999 in Washington, DC. This report builds on literature reviews and summarizes the discussions of working groups charged with addressing key areas relevant to air pollution and health effects in urban environments. An overview was provided of the state of the science for health impacts of air pollution and technologies available for air quality monitoring and exposure assessment. The working groups then prioritized research needs to address the knowledge gaps and developed recommendations for community interventions and public policy to begin to remedy the exposure and health inequities

The Impact of Anchorage's 2000 and 2007 Smoke-Free Policies on Select Restaurants and Bars

The American Lung Association in Alaska (ALAA) asked the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) to investigate the impact of the Anchorage 2000 and 2007 Clean Indoor Air (CIA) municipal ordinances on selected restaurants and bars. As previous U.S. studies have been conducted that speak to the economic and health impacts of CIA laws, ALAA also requested that ISER synthesize results of these existing studies and conduct a survey on restaurant and bar representatives’ perceptions of the impact of the ordinances.The American Lung Association in AlaskaExecutive Summary / Introduction / Anchorage Municipal Ordinances / Policy Enforcement / Literature Review: Impact of Smoke-Free Laws on Employment and Air Quality / Methodology / Key Informant Interview Findings / Survey Findings / Limitations / References / Appendice

The Administrative Climb with American Lung Association

The American Lung Association is a Nationwide non-profit organization. During times of COVID, many businesses and organizations have been struggling, especially nonprofits. Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on sponsors, donors and events to bring in the money they need to stay running. A major event for ALA is the Fight For Air Climb. The FFAC had to make changes due to Covid precautions and protocols. While in the midst of a pandemic, the nation is also in the middle of a vaping epidemic. ALA is dedicated in putting a stop to the vaping epidemic

Block Talk (February 1990)

Housing lotteriesHelp House updateLock progress on former Ross rental propertiesDayton to DaytonaIntramuralsFeature on Amy Lopez, assistant director of conferencesGreek happenings; events calendar; housing timetable; senior celebrations; talent night at the Pub (fundraiser for American Lung Association)https://ecommons.udayton.edu/blocktalk/1078/thumbnail.jp

Medical School Watercooler Newsletter - July 26, 2015

This is the July 26, 2015 edition of the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine\u27s Newsletter - Watercooler. Contents Include: USA Welcomes Dr. Maximilian Pyko Dr. Barrington Receives Grant Award from American Lung Association SouthMed Prep Scholars Present Research at USA Tobacco Cessation - Staying on Trac

American Lung Association of Maine

https://digitalmaine.com/arc_executive_proclamations_2000/1012/thumbnail.jp

How to Address Tobacco Use in Minnesota\u27s Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services: Tips from the Field

The American Lung Association, Upper Midwest Region, developed and facilitates the Leadership Academy Collaborative, bringing together various health care stakeholders in Minnesota to collaborate on a shared vision to reduce commercial tobacco use among people living with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. The following areas were identified as strategies that would benefit from further collective action: social norms, delivery, polic

Characteristics of Children Attending Asthma Camp in Nevada

The purpose of this study was to assess asthma trigger knowledge of camp attendees and the measure of agreement between physician and parent assessment of the children’s asthma severity. This study is based on cross-sectional data provided by the American Lung Association (ALA) and those children participating in summer asthma camps in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada. Fifty-six children participated in the camp in August of 2008. The study results suggest a significant positive correlation between physician and parent assessment of asthma severity. With increasing asthma severity there was a relative increase in the number of school days missed among attendees. Trigger knowledge was low among 25.9% (n=7) of attendees, 40.7% (n= 11) had moderate trigger knowledge, and only 33% (n= 9) demonstrated adequate trigger knowledge. Asthma camp is an effective venue to improve asthma education among children and provide a clinical assessment of this condition among those that are without a current diagnosis

The Cell Wall Teichuronic Acid Synthetase (TUAS) Is an Enzyme Complex Located in the Cytoplasmic Membrane of Micrococcus luteus

The cell wall teichuronic acid (TUA) of Micrococcus luteus is a long-chain polysaccharide composed of disaccharide repeating units [-4-β-D-ManNAcAp-(1→6)α-D-Glcp−1-]n, which is covalently anchored to the peptidoglycan on the inner cell wall and extended to the outer surface of the cell envelope. An enzyme complex responsible for the TUA chain biosynthesis was purified and characterized. The 440kDa enzyme complex, named teichuronic acid synthetase (TUAS), is an octomer composed of two kinds of glycosyltransferases, Glucosyltransferase, and ManNAcA-transferase, which is capable of catalyzing the transfer of disaccharide glycosyl residues containing both glucose and the N-acetylmannosaminuronic acid residues. TUAS displays hydrophobic properties and is found primarily associated with the cytoplasmic membrane. The purified TUAS contains carotinoids and lipids. TUAS activity is diminished by phospholipase digestion. We propose that TUAS serves as a multitasking polysaccharide assembling station on the bacterial membrane.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Public Health Service Grants AI-08295); American Lung Association (RG-107-N

Vermont Adolescent Perception of Barriers to Smoking and Cessation

Introduction: Despite a decline in youth smoking rates over the past decade, thirteen percent of Vermont high school students still smoke (Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, YRBS, 2013). Smoking and nicotine exposure at an early age can have detrimental effects on brain development and lead to long term, sustained tobacco use (Arrazola et. al 2015). It was our goal to characterize the barriers to cessation for these adolescents. Some important factors suggested by the literature include living with someone who smokes (50% of VT teen smokers report a parent or guardian who smokes) and having a close friend who smokes (70% of VT teen smokers) (American Lung Association 2015). Nationally, while teen smoking rates continue to decline, the decrease is being offset by a significant increase in electronic vapor products (e-cigs) (12% increase from 2011-2014) (Arrazola et. al 2015). The 2013 Vermont YRBS data may therefore be misleading, and not capture this increase in tobacco and e-cig use. Therefore, we were particularly interested in further characterizing the link, if any, between e-cig use and smoking initiation or successful smoking cessation.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1222/thumbnail.jp