Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Institutions And The Sustainability Of Community Borehole Water Supplies In Chiredzi Rural District, Zimbabwe, Emelder Muchadzoka Tagutanazvo Ms, John Bowora Mr

wH2O: The Journal of Gender and Water

This paper looks at institutions and sustainability of community-owned borehole water suppliers in Chiredzi Rural District of Zimbabwe. It examines the findings in Wards 13, 14 and 15 of Sengwe Communal Lands. The total number of boreholes in the mentioned wards amounts to 58. The paper also investigates the involvement of local institutions in the management of community boreholes, the socio-economic characteristics of the users of the boreholes, the number of boreholes and their functionality, and suggests a measurement

of sustenance of the boreholes in the study area. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative methodology. Data were collected from ...

Water And Women’S Participation The Case Of One Million Rural Cisterns Program In Serra Talhada, Pernambuco, Islene Pinheiro Façanha

wH2O: The Journal of Gender and Water

The participation of women is crucial in the domain of water management, given the vital role women play in the collection and maintenance of communal water supplies, and in regulating and controlling its use. Unfortunately, they are seldom considered in the development of water policies, and rarely are they members of bodies regulating water management. Current evidence suggests that the participation of women in rural water supply projects leads to improved outcomes for both women and the wider community. Using interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, and field observation, this paper explores the participation of women in the One Million Rural Cisterns ...

How Important Is Gender In Transboundary Groundwater Governance?: A Question For The Ramotswa Aquifer In Southern Africa, Stephanie Hawkins, Nicole Lefore, Saniso Sakuringwa, Matshidiso Thathana

wH2O: The Journal of Gender and Water

In semi-arid Sub-Saharan Africa, groundwater is a critical resource for rural livelihoods given the pressures on surface water and lack of piped delivery. Socially defined gen- der roles in water management often create disparities and inequalities regarding water access, use, and labour, making consideration of gender issues an important component of groundwater governance. Resources shared across borders raises the question about the relevance of and approach to gender in transboundary ground- water governance. This paper explores this question in light of the lack of gender responsive governance arrangements over transboundary groundwater resources. It uses qualitative methodologies to examine the need ...

Interview With Philadelphia Water Expert Tiffany Ledesma, Mahvish Ilyas

wH2O: The Journal of Gender and Water

Tiffany Ledesma leads the Public Engagement Team for the Public Affairs Division at the Philadelphia Water Department, where she has spent 15 years as a contract employee, currently employed by CDM Smith. Tiffany’s background is in water resources and her expertise is in public affairs, partnership development, capacity- building and strategic communications. Tiffany is especially passionate about work in urban communities. The Public Engagement Team helps facilitate the implementation of infrastructure investments in the City of Philadelphia, including Green City, Clean Waters, through creative community outreach, public participation and program development. Tiffany holds a bachelor of arts from Villanova ...

Comparison Of Students ́Acceptance Of Conventional And Ecological Sanitation In Rural Schools, Claudia Wendland

wH2O: The Journal of Gender and Water

In rural areas of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) without reliable piped water supply, the conventional school sanitation system – the pit latrine – is leading to hygienic and environmental problems. Urine diverting dry toilets (UDDT) have been demonstrated to be an alternative, ecological sanitation solution for rural schools of the EECCA region. This study compares the acceptance, perception and absenteeism of students at schools served by the two different sanitation systems (ecosan versus pit latrine), comprising 18 schools in six countries of the region. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was applied: absenteeism data from ...

Cinderella And The Missing Slipper: Gender Dynamics In Water Management In The Coastal Region Of Bangladesh, Khalid Md. Bahauddin, Hamidul Huq

wH2O: The Journal of Gender and Water

The water world is socially constructed, reflecting continuous gender inequalities and discrimination by those who hold dominant perspectives on water. This qualitative study was conducted in coastal areas of Bangladesh i.e. Bajua and Laodob union of Dacope upazilla of Khulna district. This study explored the gendered roles, responsibilities, and inequalities of access to and control over water management in the household, irrigation and agriculture. Results of this study lightened the importance of taking into account the complexity of power and negotiation in local water structures within women’s social realities. This study observed that there are considerable gender imbalance ...

Effects Of Chronic Ethanol Exposure On Stress Coping Style And Genetic States Of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Alexander Goodman

Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Neurotransmitter systems are important in regulating the stress response. If a behavioral response is disproportional to a stressor it is characterized as anxiety-like behavior. Many anxiolytic compounds, such as ethanol, increase stressor engagement, but how these compounds interact with an organism on a neurogenetic level is less understood. In this study, I assessed the impact of chronic ethanol treatment on behavior and gene expression of GABA_Areceptors subunits on two strains of zebrafish. Each strain was selectively bred to display the proactive or reactive stress coping style where proactive individuals will actively engage a stressor more than reactive individuals ...

Analyzing Drug Release Kinetics From Water-Soluble Polymers, Sean M. Kelly, Arun K. Upadhyay, Akash Mitra, Balaji Narasimhan

Chemical and Biological Engineering Publications

The ability to develop predictive mathematical models of therapeutic release from pharmaceutical formulations has enormous potential to enhance our understanding of such systems and improve the controlled release of the payload. The current work describes the development and testing of a one-dimensional model of drug transport from amorphous, swelling/dissolving polymers. Model parameters such as the diffusivities of water and drug, the initial loading of the drug, the polymer dissolution rate, drug-polymer interactions, and the tablet thickness were varied, demonstrating the ability to tune the release to be controlled by either drug diffusion or polymer chain disentanglement. In addition, predictions ...

Sharing The Gift Of Water: A Hoosier-Haitian Partnership, Lauren Ward

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Engagement Methods for International Food Security (YDAE 49100) provided an opportunity for enrolled students to travel abroad to Cap-Haitïen, Haiti. As both a course in agriculture and a service-learning study abroad, the overarching goal was to inspire, engage, and teach Purdue and Haitian students through service learning in agriculture. This was done by developing a project with teammates during the fall semester that was then presented to students in Haiti during the International Agri-Symposium at Université Antenor Firmin over winter break.

Detection Of Beta-Lactamase Variants In Municipal Wastewater And Fresh Water, Sunil Pandey

Masters Theses

The occurrence and spread of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) are pressing public health problems worldwide. A key factor contributing to the spread of ARGs is lateral gene transfer. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are measured hot spots of microbial diversity and resistance because they receive polluted wastewater from diverse sources and contain a variety of different environments with dense bacterial loads. Due to the overuse of antibiotics the genetic capacities of microbes have profited. This helps every source of resistance gene and every means of horizontal gene transmission to develop the multiple mechanism of resistance to each antibiotic used clinically, agriculturally, or ...

Toll-Like Receptor-4 Disruption Suppresses Adipose Tissue Remodeling And Increases Survival In Cancer Cachexia Syndrome, Felipe Henriques, Magno A. Lopes, Felipe O. Franco, Pamela Knobl, Kaltinaitis B. Santos, Luana L. Bueno, Victor A. Correa, Alexander H. Bedard, Adilson L. Guilherme, Alexander Birbrair, Sidney B. Peres, Stephen R. Farmer, Miguel L. Batista Jr.

Open Access Articles

Cancer-induced cachexia, characterized by systemic inflammation, body weight loss, adipose tissue (AT) remodeling and muscle wasting, is a malignant metabolic syndrome with undefined etiology. Here, we show that both genetic ablation and pharmacological inhibition of TLR4 were able to attenuate the main clinical markers of cachexia in mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC). AT remodelling was not found in LLC tumor-bearing (TB) TLR4(-/-) mice due to reduced macrophage infiltration and adipocyte atrophy. TLR4(-/-) mice were also resistant to cold-induced browning of subcutaneous AT (scAT). Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of TLR4 (Atorvastatin) reproduced the main protective effect against AT remodeling found in ...

Ectopic High Endothelial Venules In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Unique Site For Targeted Delivery, Baharak Bahmani, Mayuko Uehara, Farideh Ordikhani, Xiaofei Li, Liwei Jiang, Naima Banouni, Takaharu Ichimura, Vivek Kasinath, Siawosh K. Eskandari, Nasim Annabi, Jonathan S. Bromberg, Leonard D. Shultz, Dale L. Greiner, Reza Abdi

Open Access Articles

BACKGROUND: Nanomedicine offers an excellent opportunity to tackle treatment-refractory malignancies by enhancing the delivery of therapeutics to the tumor site. High endothelial venules (HEVs) are found primarily in lymph nodes or formed de novo in peripheral tissues during inflammatory responses. They express peripheral node addressin (PNAd), which is recognized by the monoclonal antibody MECA79.

METHODS: Here, we demonstrated that HEVs form de novo in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We engineered MECA79 coated nanoparticles (MECA79-NPs) that recognize these ectopic HEVs in PDAC.

FINDINGS: The trafficking of MECA79-NPs following intravenous delivery to human PDAC implanted in a humanized mouse model was ...

Particulate Hexavalent Chromium Does Not Induce Centrosome Amplification In Sperm Whale And Bowhead Whale Cells., Jennifer Haruka Toyoda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a widespread environmental and occupational carcinogen. The mechanism of carcinogenesis remains poorly understood, but chromosome instability (CIN) is the dominant theory. How numerical CIN arises is unclear, but it correlates with centrosome amplification. Both phenotypes are hallmarks of cancers, early events in carcinogenesis, and have been shown to occur after Cr(VI) exposure to human skin and lung fibroblasts. In this study, we investigate numerical CIN and centrosome amplification in whale cells. Whales are our closest marine relatives, have long lifespans, and are exposed to environmental Cr(VI). Importantly, they have low cancer rates and ...

Epidermal Growth Factor-Like Ligands Regulate Dimer Selection., Jamie S. Rush

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are thirteen known endogenous EGF-like ligands. We previously reported that Betacellulin (BTC) increases ligand-mediated corneal wound healing more than Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) [Peterson et al. (2014) IOVS 55(5):2870-80], although the molecular reason for this is unknown. Despite being better at promoting wound healing via enhanced cell migration, BTC has reduced receptor affinity and weaker induction of EGFR phosphorylation. These data indicate that BTC’s response is not due to enhanced affinity or EGFR-kinase activity. Receptor phosphorylation and proximity ligation assays indicate that BTC treatment significantly increases ErbB3 phosphorylation and EGFR:ErbB3 heterodimers. BTC traffics EGFR at ...

Assessing Biofiltration Without Ozonation For Removal Of Trihalomethane Precursors In Drinking Water At The Beaver Water District Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Sana Ajaz

Theses and Dissertations

Biofiltration without pre-ozonation has the capability to remove natural organic matter (NOM) fractions that serve as precursors of disinfection byproducts (DBPs), which include the four regulated trihalomethanes (THMs) and dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN). Rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs) and Pilot Plant filters operated at empty-bed contact times (EBCTs) of 4, 8, and 16 minutes were used to evaluate the performance of nutrient-amended (free ammonia and phosphorus) biofiltration for THM and DCAN precursor removal, as measured using formation potential (FP) tests. NOM surrogates – which include dissolved organic carbon (DOC), specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA254) and fluorescence-PARAFAC components – were measured weekly throughout the 30-week study ...

Watersheds In Planetary Health Research And Action, Aaron Jenkins, Anthony Capon, Joel Negin, Ben Marais, Tania Sorrell, Margot Parkes, Pierre Horwitz

ECU Publications Post 2013

Watersheds (also known as water catchments and river basins) are recognised in contemporary science as important natural systems in which to investigate the complex socioecological foundations of health. A watershed is the spatially bound geophysical unit within which surface and shallow groundwater drain to a single collecting stream or river (see appendix). Watersheds are physical and abstract systems: they are open and hydrologically permeable, yet can be represented as functionally distinct. Collectively, watersheds comprise a complex hierarchical network, and thus exemplify the upstream and downstream nature of ecosystems. Watersheds include the social actors, relationships, and institutions located within their boundaries ...

Expression Of Hepatic Cytochrome P450 Drug Metabolizing Enzymes In Diabetes And Diabetic Nephropathy, Cheng Jay Fang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The prevalence of diabetes worldwide is rapidly increasing. Polypharmacy, along with a high risk of adverse drug reactions, is common in diabetic patients. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A and 2C drug metabolizing enzymes are reduced in chronic kidney disease (CKD), altering drug pharmacokinetics and contributing to adverse drug reactions. A large fraction of commonly prescribed drugs are metabolized by CYP3A and CYP2C. Approximately 40% of all CKD cases are attributed to diabetic nephropathy (DN) and early DN presents as mild kidney disease. This study aims to evaluate the impact of diabetes and DN on levels and activity of hepatic CYP3A and ...

Targeted Delivery Of Bioactive Molecules For Vascular Intervention And Tissue Engineering, Hannah A. Strobel, Elisabet I. Qendro, Eben Alsberg, Marsha W. Rolle

Open Access Articles

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. Treatment often requires surgical interventions to re-open occluded vessels, bypass severe occlusions, or stabilize aneurysms. Despite the short-term success of such interventions, many ultimately fail due to thrombosis or restenosis (following stent placement), or incomplete healing (such as after aneurysm coil placement). Bioactive molecules capable of modulating host tissue responses and preventing these complications have been identified, but systemic delivery is often harmful or ineffective. This review discusses the use of localized bioactive molecule delivery methods to enhance the long-term success of vascular interventions, such as drug-eluting stents ...

The Use Of Current Steering During Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation To Alleviate Upper Limb Symptoms Of Parkinson's Disease, Shabna Iftikar Mohideen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Subthalamic (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment to alleviate the appendicular motor symptoms of Parkinson's Disease (PD). Current steering during DBS allows the unequal fractionation of current between two electrodes on the lead, resulting in a non-spherical electrical field. It is hypothesized that the way the electrical field is shaped will affect a patient’s upper limb symptom alleviation. Seven PD patients who underwent bilateral STN-DBS were tested over four weeks post-operation. 16 current fractionation settings were tested each week at an amplitude that increased weekly. Optimal setting was defined as the setting that provided the ...

Profile Interview With Norman E. Fenn, Shannon L. Castek

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Shannon L. Castek is a fourth-generation Boilermaker and fourth-professional-year student in the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Throughout her time in pharmacy school, Shannon has enjoyed supplementing her curricular work with service-learning activities, participating in health screenings and immunization events with the Purdue chapter of the American Pharmacists Association–Academy of Student Pharmacists. She plans to pursue a pharmacy residency following graduation to achieve her dream of becoming an ambulatory care pharmacist. In this article, Shannon highlights the service-learning endeavors of Dr. Norman Fenn in the College of Pharmacy.