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The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of public information about air quality (ozone alerts) in modifying the effects of air pollution on asthma exacerbations, using a range of measures that encompass varying degrees morbidity. A time series dataset was constructed that related the daily number of medical care services utilized for asthma with ozone, fine particulates, ozone alert, and other control variables. The study included subjects enrolled in health plans offered by employers in Dallas-Fort Worth during the ozone seasons May 2000 – September 2008. Count models of asthma hospitalizations underestimated the harmful association with ozone by 40% when ozone alerts were not included as a control variable. A 20 ppb increase in 8-hr maximum ozone levels on the previous day was associated with a 11.6% increase in asthma hospitalizations (95% CI: 2.5%, 20.6%). The lowest ozone alert level (orange) on the previous day was associated with 14.1% fewer asthma hospitalizations (95% CI: -27.9%, -0.3%) and a red or higher ozone alert was associated with 19.9% fewer asthma hospitalizations (95% CI: -42.5%, 2.6%). Weaker relationships were found for asthma ER visits, possibly due to that fact that ER visits for asthma may be due to an inability to see a doctor in an outpatient setting (i.e. evenings and weekends) and thus these visits may less strongly related to environmental triggers. Most studies of the effects of air pollution do not account for behavioral responses to public health information about air quality, such as ozone alerts, and may underestimate the harmful effects of poor air quality.

Scope and Method of Study: This report has been undertaken as a brief survey of the sea lamprey situation that has existed in the upper Great Lakes for the last four decades. A brief history of the invasion into the upper lakes is presented, along with the economic problems created by this invasion. The identification and life history of sea lampreys are discussed in detail because control methods are band upon certain characteristics of the life cycle. Control methods are traced from the basic underlying concepts, through the various stages of experimentation and application, to and including the results of each. The literature surveyed in this study included: scientific reports of governmental agencies, articles from scientific and conservation journals, and biological textbooks.