Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Air Pollution In South Texas: A Short Communication Of Health Risks And Implications, Sai Deepak Pinakana, Esmeralda Mendez, Ismaila Ibrahim, Md. Salahuddin Majumder, Amit U. Raysoni

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Air pollution is a major public health concern. The region of South Texas in the United States has experienced high levels of air pollution in recent years due to an increase in population, cross-border trade between the U.S.A. and Mexico, and high vehicular activity. This review assesses the relationships between human health and air pollution in South Texas. A thorough scientific search was performed using PubMed, Science Direct, and ProQuest, with most of the literature focusing on the source apportionment of particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in width (PM2.5), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), Black Carbon …

A Socio-Ecological Model To Assess Tuberculosis In Migrant Farmworkers In The Us-Mexico Border Region, Amit U. Raysoni

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The migrant and seasonal farmworker toiling in the fields and orchards of the United States of America surmounts innumerable problems daily. Some of these problems pertain to the overall health of the farmworker in addition to the various occupational hazards that he or she faces. This research paper focuses on Tuberculosis infection—both latent and active—in the migrant farmworkers in the United States with a special focus on the US-Mexico border. Using the Socio-Ecological Model as a theoretical framework, the TB health issues faced by this group are studied. The various determinants of health at every level of the Socio-Ecological Model …

Source-Specific Pollution Exposure And Associations With Pulmonary Response In The Atlanta Commuters Exposure Studies, Jenna R. Krall, Chandresh N. Ladva, Armistead G. Russell, Rachel Golan, Xing Peng, Guoliang Shi, Roby Greenwald, Amit U. Raysoni, Lance A. Waller, Jeremy A. Sarnat

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Concentrations of traffic-related air pollutants are frequently higher within commuting vehicles than in ambient air. Pollutants found within vehicles may include those generated by tailpipe exhaust, brake wear, and road dust sources, as well as pollutants from in-cabin sources. Sourcespecific pollution, compared to total pollution, may represent regulation targets that can better protect human health. We estimated source-specific pollution exposures and corresponding pulmonary response in a panel study of commuters. We used constrained positive matrix factorization to estimate source-specific pollution factors and, subsequently, mixed effects models to estimate associations between source-specific pollution and pulmonary response. We identified four pollution factors …

Modification Of Traffic-Related Respiratory Response By Asthma Control In A Population Of Car Commuters, Maria C. Mirabelli, Rachel Golan, Roby Greenwald, Amit U. Raysoni, Fernando Holguin, Priya Kewada, Andrea Winquist, W Dana Flanders, Jeremy A. Sarnat

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Effects of traffic-related exposures on respiratory health are well documented, but little information is available about whether asthma control influences individual susceptibility. We analyzed data from the Atlanta Commuter Exposure study to evaluate modification of associations between rush-hour commuting, in- vehicle air pollution, and selected respiratory health outcomes by asthma control status.

Methods: Between 2009 and 2011, 39 adults participated in Atlanta Commuter Exposure, and each conducted two scripted rush-hour highway commutes. In-vehicle particulate components were measured during all commutes. Among adults with asthma, we evaluated asthma control by questionnaire and spirometry. Exhaled nitric oxide, forced expiratory volume in …

Air Pollution And Acute Respiratory Response In A Panel Of Asthmatic Children Along The U.S.–Mexico Border, Stefanie E. Sarnat, Amit U. Raysoni, Wen-Whai Li, Fernando Holguin, Brent A. Johnson, Silvia Flores Luevano, Jose Humberto Garcia, Jeremy A. Sarnat

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Concerns regarding the health impact of urban air pollution on asthmatic children are pronounced along the U.S.–Mexico border because of rapid population growth near busy border highways and roads.

Objectives: We conducted the first binational study of the impacts of air pollution on asthmatic children in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, USA, and compared different exposure metrics to assess acute respiratory response.

Methods: We recruited 58 asthmatic children from two schools in Ciudad Juarez and two schools in El Paso. A marker of airway inflammation [exhaled nitric oxide (eNO)], respiratory symptom surveys, and pollutant measurements (indoor and …