Asthma is a pathophysiological condition associated with eosinophilia and heightened inflammatory reactions, epithelial desquamation, hyper responsiveness, recurring episodes of reversible broncho-constriction, and mucus hyper secretion from the respiratory organs. Asthma interludes can be triggered by a variety of factors most notably allergens, infectious agents, pollutants, and nonspecific stimuli such as exercise, nutritional factors and emotional stress. Certain genes and their polymorphism may also have effects in the initiation and progression of asthma.

Thickening of the basement membrane zone (BMZ) is a characteristic feature of airway remodeling in the lungs of asthmatics. However the significance of a thickened BMZ in the pathology of the asthmatic airway is not known. In this review we show that the columnar epithelium is linked to the reticular BMZ through the supracellular anchoring network. We discuss the evidence that changes in the width of the BMZ in control airways are part of a supracellular anchoring mechanism for increasing the strength of attachment between the airway epithelium and the extracellular matrix (ECM).

Hi All,

I work with the Clean Air for Kids program at the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department in the State of Washington. The majority of our work is done utilizing home visits and our database is not quite up to snuff. We are starting to shop around for other databases and thought we would check and see what other programs are using. If you are willing, it would be helpful if you could share: what database you are using, how much it cost, what fields you can fill in, can it be used on a laptop/tablet, what are the pros and cons.

Many thanks in advance!

What level of attrition do you typically experience? For example, if you were to successfully enroll 100 families and they received your initial visit, how many would "graduate" through the entire program?

Do you require any pre-qualifications or certifications for the contractors performing home interventions?  If so, which have been most effective for ensuring successul project implementation?

Many schools also have IAQ, pest, mold/mildew/moisture, dust, etc. issues that exacerbate Asthma - a wide variation from what we have seen locally and other areas of the country.  Do either of your programs also address school environments (using IAQ Tools for Schools or other evaluations)?  Should they?  Previous EPA award winners focused on Schools-based programs similar in many ways to what you described.  Combining/aligning and engaging BOTH home and school is child-centered, and likely to generate even better returns.

For Ms. Steppe--will you discuss your relationships with other organizations such as Habitat for Humanity Greater Memphis that are providing housing intervention services as part of your work?

Both CHW and AE-C were described as particpating the in home education part of the CHAMP program. How were the roles diffentiated?

Were the impresive outcomes reported from GHHI-Baltimore from a quality of life survey or from medical data? Are these the same outcomes that Milliman vetted for the SIB? Thanks for presentation.