Consumer Health Information for Asians (CHIA): a collaborative project.

According to the 2000 United States Census, the Asian population in Houston, Texas, has increased more than 67% in the last ten years. To supplement an already active consumer health information program, the staff of the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library worked with community partners to bring health information to predominantly Asian neighborhoods. Brochures on health topics of concern to the Asian community were translated and placed in eight informational kiosks in Asian centers such as temples and an Asian grocery store. A press conference and a ribbon cutting ceremony were held to debut the kiosks and to introduce the Consumer Health Information for Asians (CHIA) program. Project goals for the future include digitizing the translated brochures, mounting them on the Houston HealthWays Website, and developing touch-screen kiosks. The CHIA group is investigating adding health resources in other Asian languages, as well as Spanish. Funding for this project has come from outside sources rather than from the regular library budget.

Monitoring of industrial exposure for chloracne

This study (1) established comedogenicity dose response curves for the pure compounds of 3,3$\sp\prime$,4,4$\sp\prime$-tetrachloroazobenzene (TCAB) and 3,3$\sp\prime$,4,4$\sp\prime$-tetrachloroazoxybenzene (TCAOB) individually and as a couple-compound using a rabbit ear model; (2) used a rabbit ear model to establish comedogenicity potential for TCAB and TCAOB as they existed in a given industrial herbicide manufacture process; (3) evaluated actual environmental contamination in a herbicide industrial setting by air monitoring and wipe sampling; (4) biologically monitored potentially exposed workers for alterations in follicular orifice size as an index of actual exposure to chloracnegenic compounds; and (5) biologically monitored potentially exposed workers for changes in weight, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar.^ A silastic monomer mold (an objective measure) was used to measure change in follicular orifice size over time. This required taking impressions of (1) skin of the forehead and right and left malar crescents of workers and (2) the skin of the external ear of the rabbit. Molds were stained using a solution of hematoxylin and digitized using a Nikon UFX microscope (magnification 300 X), a drawing tube and a digitizing tablet attached to an IBM Personal Computer. Comedogenicity assays were used to establish dose-response curves for TCAB, TCAOB and the couple-compound TCAB + TCAOB.^ No evidence of chloracne or toxicity was observed in any of the workers. Nor, was there a statistically significant increase in size of follicular orifice means measured over time. This was attributed to extensive personal and environmental hygiene programs along with teaching the workers about chloracne, its cause and its prevention. These programs may have been the greatest factor in preventing the development of chloracne in this group of workers. Monitoring of the plant environment showed relatively high concentrations of the couple-compound (TCAB + TCAOB). Comedogenicity assays showed a linear dose-response relationship over time for TCAB, TCAOB and the couple-compound. An antagonistic action was found for the TCAB/TCAOB of the couple-compound; such action may provide some protection to workers in this type of setting. It is speculated that the observed antagonistic action may be due to the difference in binding affinities of TCAB/TCAOB for receptor sites. ^