Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Zolpidem Facilitated Sexual Assaults: A Hair Method Validation, Danielle N. Chasworth

Student Theses

A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS) method was developed and validated to detect for the presence of zolpidem in human hair samples. Zolpidem is a sedative hypnotic whose adverse effects make it a common drug found in drug facilitated crimes (DFC). It is important to be able to detect and quantitate the drug after a long period of time due to the victim’s delayed reporting of the crime. Hair’s long window of detection makes it a useful matrix for DFC investigations. The linear range of the assay was targeted at 2 pg/mg to 1,000 pg ...

Δ-9-Thc Effect On The Dopamine Transporter, Brooke E. Nielsen

Student Theses

Understanding the mechanism behind drugs of abuse is one of the key elements to understanding why addiction is so prevalent in society. The goal of this research was to determine the effect that a popular cannabinoid, Δ -9-tetrahydrocannabinol has on the regulation of dopamine neurotransmitter in the synapses. It was hypothesized that the addictive high users experience from using Δ-9-THC had a direct effect on lowering the dopamine transporter protein on cell surface causing a buildup of dopamine in the synapse. The results of the study show that the higher concentration of Δ-9-THC that the cells were exposed to caused ...

Defining The Radioresponse Of Mossy Cells, Devon Ivy

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Clinical radiotherapy is used to treat a variety of brain tumors within the central nervous system. While effective, it can result in progressive and debilitating cognitive impairment that can diminish quality of life. These impairments have been linked to hippocampal dysfunction and corresponding deficits in spatial learning and memory. Mossy cells are a major population of excitatory neurons located within the dentate hilus and highly involved in hippocampal circuitry. They play critical roles in spatial navigation, neurogenesis, memory, and are particularly vulnerable to a variety of neurotoxic insults. However, their sensitivity to ionizing radiation has yet to be investigated in ...

Functions Of Ecosystems: Stream Metabolism As An Efficient And Effective Means To Gage The Health And Understand The Interworking Of Urban Streams In A Watershed Of Rock Island, Il, Ryan Johnson, Dr. Kevin Geedey

Celebration of Learning

Stream metabolism is a critical functional measure of stream health that integrates physical parameters like slope and discharge, with ecosystem functions like photosynthesis and respiration. Stream metabolism is widely studied; however, urban stream metabolism remains poorly understood. Stream metabolism was measured for five streams ranging from 1^st to 5^th orders from October 11^th to October 18^th 2017 and four streams ranging from 1^st to 4^th order from October 22^nd to 25^th 2017 located within an approximately 9.3 square kilometer watershed of Rock Island, IL that has an urban to suburban type ...

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic ...

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim ...

Examining The Roles Of Genetic And Environmental Factors In Drosophila Melanogaster Hematopoiesis And Innate Immune System, Minkyung Lee

Student Theses

Nearly 24 million people are affected by autoimmune diseases in the United States. Main causes of autoimmune diseases have been attributed to genetic predisposition and environmental exposure to chemicals such as hormones and pesticides. Due to the large population that are affected by autoimmune diseases, it is critical to understand the mechanisms behind them. In this study, we sought to explore both genetic and environmental factors that affect hematopoiesis, or the formation of specific blood cells, and immune system in Drosophila melanogaster. As Drosophila melanogaster have conserved pathways of hematopoiesis as humans, they were used as the model organism for ...

Systematic Pan-Cancer Analysis Of Somatic Allele Frequency., Liam Spurr, Muzi Li, Nawaf Alomran, Qianqian Zhang, Paula Restrepo, Mercedeh Movassagh, Chris Trenkov, Nerissa Tunnessen, Tatiyana Apanasovich, Keith A Crandall, Nathan Edwards, Anelia Horvath

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

Imbalanced expression of somatic alleles in cancer can suggest functional and selective features, and can therefore indicate possible driving potential of the underlying genetic variants. To explore the correlation between allele frequency of somatic variants and total gene expression of their harboring gene, we used the unique data set of matched tumor and normal RNA and DNA sequencing data of 5523 distinct single nucleotide variants in 381 individuals across 10 cancer types obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We analyzed the allele frequency in the context of the variant and gene functional features and linked it with changes in ...

Investigating The Role Of Gold Nanoparticle Shape And Size In Their Toxicities To Fungi, Kangze Liu, Zhonglei He, Hugh J. Byrne, James Curtin, Furong Tian

Articles

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are increasingly being used in a wide range of applications, and such they are being released in greater quantities into the environment. Consequently, the environmental effects of GNPs, especially toxicities to living organisms, have drawn great attention. However, their toxicological characteristics still remain unclear. Fungi, as the decomposers of the ecosystem, interact directly with the environment and critically control the overall health of the biosphere. Thus, their sensitivity to GNP toxicity is particularly important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of GNP shape and size in their toxicities to fungi, which could help ...

Melatonin-Micronutrients Osteopenia Treatment Study (Mots): A Translational Study Assessing The Effects Of Melatonin, Strontium Citrate, Vitamin D3 And Vitamin K2 On Bone Density, Bone Turnover Markers And Health-Related Quality Of Life In Postmenopausal Osteopenic Women Following A One-Year Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial And On Osteoblast-Osteoclast Co-Cultures, Sifat Maria

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess if a novel combination of melatonin and three other natural bone-aiding micronutrients: strontium citrate, vitamins D₃ and K₂ (MSDK) could improve bone health by modulating the activity of osteoblasts and osteoclasts in favor of balanced bone remodeling and by improving the overall health-related quality of life in postmenopausal osteopenic women.

Methods: The Melatonin-micronutrients Osteopenia Treatment Study (MOTS) is a translational research study that used both clinical and in vitro approaches to assess the efficacy of MSDK on bone health in women and to identify potential mechanisms for its effects ...

Disruption Of Neonatal Cardiomyocyte Physiology Following Exposure To Bisphenol-A., Manelle Ramadan, Meredith Sherman, Rafael Jaimes, Ashika Chaluvadi, Luther Swift, Nikki Gillum Posnack

Pharmacology and Physiology Faculty Publications

Bisphenol chemicals are commonly used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate plastics, polyvinyl chloride plastics, resins, and thermal printing applications. Humans are inadvertently exposed to bisphenols through contact with consumer products and/or medical devices. Recent reports have shown a link between bisphenol-a (BPA) exposure and adverse cardiovascular outcomes; although these studies have been limited to adult subjects and models. Since cardiac physiology differs significantly between the developing and adult heart, we aimed to assess the impact of BPA exposure on cardiac function, using a neonatal cardiomyocyte model. Neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were monitored to assess cell viability, spontaneous beating rate ...

Wyoming’S Water Issue: Planning For Water Scarcity Or Ignoring It?, Hillary Donovan

Honors Theses AY 17/18

The state of Wyoming contains the headwaters for the Colorado River, a river that supplies billions of people their water throughout the Western United States. Water is a vital resource that all life needs to survive. As climate change is predicted to change the known water regime and timing in snowpack melt, the state must plan for changes in water availability. In 2015, Wyoming’s Governor Matthew Mead released Wyoming’s Water Strategy to address and plan for future water scarcity. Within his plan, the governor laid out plans for 10 new water storage projects in ten years. Three years ...

Efficacy Of Intranasal Administration: A Clinical Approach To Attention, Jacob Feldmann

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Orexins are a class of neuropeptides that are associated with homeostatic functions, such as food intake, sexual behavior, and the sleep/wake cycle. Orexins also play a pivotal role in cognitive processes such as attention and memory. In the present experiment, we employed a visual attention task to assess the effects of intranasal administration of orexin A in rats. This task required the rats to discriminate between trials when a visual light was illuminated from trials when the light was not illuminated. We tested the efficacy of this administration technique to see its viability as a therapeutic in attention disorders ...

Protocol Development In The Or: Lessons Learned, Megan Sims

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

The management of pain in those undergoing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy is complex and challenging. There have been advances in the understanding of the physiology of pain and a wide variety of treatment options are now available. Establishing a preventative multi-modal protocol with different types of pain medications that work on a variety of receptors along the pain pathway is imperative. Through an exhaustive literature review, a preventative multi-modal approach was established and introduced at a small hospital in Central Illinois available for all laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients undergoing surgery over a 10 week implementation period. There was only one completed case ...

Comparison Of Habitat And Water Quality In The Blue River's South And Salem Forks In Southern Indiana To Support Watershed Management, Erin Crone

Undergraduate Theses

A stream’s habitat and water quality are heavily influenced by land use and geology within its watershed. Pollutants and sediment loading from watershed drainage can make streams less habitable for certain species, reducing biodiversity. Watershed management strategies, such as the promotion of best management practices in agriculture, can help to combat stream degradation from watershed inputs. The upper Blue River in southern Indiana is a biodiversity hotspot but is experiencing degradation and biodiversity loss due to watershed inputs. This is exemplified by the disappearance of the eastern hellbender salamander, an indicator species, from this area. Fine sediment loading is ...

Investigating The Synergistic Effects Of Two Curcuminoids And Cisplatin On Cancer Cell Migration, Blaine Patty

Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Cisplatin is a common chemotherapy drug used to treat various cancers; however, it is relatively ineffective against many cancers, including several types of lung cancer. One approach that could improve cisplatin’s effect is to combine it with another drug that produces a synergistic response greater than either drug alone. Curcumin, a naturally occurring plant compound, has been investigated for synergisms in conjunction with cisplatin chemotherapy, but curcumin use is hampered by its low bioavailability. This project investigated whether two synthetic curcumin analogs, EF-24 and CLEFMA (curcuminoids), which have greater solubility than curcumin, could, when combined with cisplatin, decrease the ...

Investigating The Synergistic Effects Of Two Curcuminoids And Cisplatin On Cancer Cell Reactive Oxygen Species, Matthew Millay

Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Cisplatin is an anticancer drug which can cause the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that kill cancer cells. Curcumin is a naturally occurring plant compound that can increase ROS levels in cancer cells and enhance the activity of cisplatin against cancer, but it exhibits poor bioavailability. We investigated whether two synthetic curcumin analogs (curcuminoids), EF-24 and CLEFMA, with anti-cancer activity and improved bioavailability, increased cisplatin’s effect against cancer. A spectrophotometric fluorescent ROS assay was used to determine if cisplatin, the curcuminoids or combinations of cisplatin with a curcuminoid affected the level of ROS in the A549 non-small cell ...

Anntibiotic Resistance: Plasmid Transfer Among Bacterial Species Using Antibiotics Of The Tetracycline, Cephalosporin, And Carbapenem Classes, Natalie Lindgren, Lisa Ann Blankinship

UNA Research Days

Antibiotic resistance makes the treatment of illness a constantly evolving obstacle in drug development. Under ideal conditions, antimicrobial drugs work by either killing bacterial organisms or inhibiting replication. However, bacterial species are able to improve their genetic composition through plasmid conjugation, enabling neutralization of, removal of, or protection from drugs. In a hospital setting, resistant pathogens lead to multi-drug resistant bacterial strains that endanger the lives of patients. The purpose of this project will be to study bacteria that exhibit resistance to antibiotics in the tetracycline, cephalosporin, and carbapenem classes and transfer that resistance to an antibiotic sensitive organism. Tetracycline ...

Manganese Toxicity In The Dopamine Synthesis Pathway In Drosophilia Melanogaster, Brandon J. Adair, Tamra E. Jones

Carroll College Student Undergraduate Research Festival

Manganese is prevalent in Montana, and Manganese toxicity symptomatically resembles Parkinson’s disease. The goal of this project was to determine whether exposure to high levels of Manganese affects the Dopamine synthesis pathway. For our experiment, we chose to measure the expression of the ple gene in Drosophila melanogaster that were exposed to Manganese during development. The ple gene codes for Tyrosine Hydroxylase, an enzyme that functions in the first rate-limiting step of Dopamine synthesis. We hypothesized that an abundance of Manganese would result in decreased expression of ple in larvae and observable motor function deficits among adult flies. In ...

Effects Of Everyday Toxin, Titanium Dioxide, On Drosophila Melanogaster Nervous System Development, Maria Carparelli, Kelsey Ripley

Carroll College Student Undergraduate Research Festival

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a widely used compound found in everything from food packaging to sunscreens. When ingested, TiO2 is readily transported across membranes and efficiently stored within cells. Previous studies showed that exposure to TiO2 results in underdeveloped nervous systems. For our study, we attempted to answer the following question: Will exposing Drosophila melanogaster larvae to TiO2 affect expression of the Neur gene and development of the central nervous system? The Neur gene is crucial during the cell-determination stage of development as its encoded protein helps specify neuroblast development and aids in nervous system and sensory organ development. It ...