Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Development Of Novel Analytical Methods For Detection And Determination Of Tamoxifen In Oral Fluid And Discrimination Between Regioisomeric Aromatase Inhibitors For Doping Control Purposes, Brooke A. Sutton

Online Theses and Dissertations

The use of SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) – most notably the drug Tamoxifen – has significantly increased among athletes over the past decade to enhance athletic performance and/or negate certain side effects of using anabolic steroids. This “doping” is always banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) for all athletes, but SERMs can naturally increase testosterone production so they are a tempting alternative to using steroids or androgenic supplements that can cause significant health problems (e.g. acne, breast development, frequent urge to urinate, low libido, etc.). Similarly, the use of AIs (Aromatase Inhibitors) has also increased among athletes for identical …

The Efficacy Of Ketamine In Adult Patients With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder With Symptoms Refractory To Standard Of Care Treatment., Brooke Thornton

Capstone Showcase

First line pharmacologic treatments for adult patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) involve selective serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRI/SNRIs). These drug classes often fail to deliver timely relief of symptoms as well as maintain longevity of symptom recurrence. This research analyzed the use of ketamine in adult patients suffering with OCD for the purposes of more efficacious management of symptoms. Although ketamine demonstrated a timelier relief of symptoms in some small clinical studies, its effects were ultimately unable to be sustained long term. Additionally, a wide range of adverse effects including dissociation, and rebound symptoms were observed. As a result, large …

Variations On A Theme: Intricacies Of Unanchored Poly-Ubiquitin Signaling And Toxicity, Jessica Renee Blount-Pacheco

Wayne State University Dissertations

Ubiquitin is an 8.5 kDa post-translational modifier involved in essentially all eukaryotic cellular processes. Through a process called ubiquitination, ubiquitinating enzymes chemically attach ubiquitin to substrate proteins to control their fates, resulting in anything from their recruitment into signaling pathways to their proteasomal degradation, with a plethora of possibilities in between. Ubiquitin molecules can also be attached to one another, resulting in poly-ubiquitin chains with various effects depending on the number of ubiquitin molecules and the specific amino acid residues used to link them together. While most poly-ubiquitin in the cell exists as conjugated species, there are also untethered poly-ubiquitin …

Phytochemical Screening, In Vitro Antimalarial Activity And Genetic Diversity Of Selected Asteraceae Medicinal Plants Indigenous To Thailand, Desy Liana

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The emergence of artemisinin resistance leaded the effort to find the new antimalarial drug or artemisinin activity booster. Due to the chance that secondary metabolites can be evolutionary conserved, combining phylogeny with ethnobotanical data for screening antimalarial activity may be helpful to predict bioactivity and minimize the expenditure and time for laboratory research. The aimed of this study is screening the antimalarial activity, phytochemicals and genetic diversity of selected Asteraceae medicinal plants generated by combinatorial phylogeny and ethnobotanical data. 733 medicinal plants were obtained from literature search however only 340 taxa were met the inclusion and exclusion criteria hence these …

Environmental Governance For Whom? Examining The Political, Institutional, Fiscal, And Legal Determinants Of State Environmental Agency Budget Policy In The Us, Andrew R. Duggan

Theses and Dissertations

Budgets are a prospective tool of governance, and appropriations are a planning vehicle reflecting: bureaucracies’ values, complex interactions, collective preferences, political influences, and available resources. Research spanning 30 years finds that environmental pollution is a key determinant of environmental budgets in the US, though myriad factors, actors, and subsystems are important to consider. Due to federalism and devolution of responsibilities and authorities, environmental governance falls largely to the states. While the dynamics that shape state environmental budget policy have received scholarly interest, theoretically-driven examinations of environmental appropriations remain limited within the public budgeting and environmental policy literature.

Using panel data …

Elucidating Molecular Function Of Mithramycin And Analogues For The Treatment Of Ews-Ets Expressing Cancers, Reiya Hayden

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Introduction: Chromosomal translocations are common in cancer. In many cancers such as prostate cancer, leukemia and Ewing sarcoma, chromosomal translocations are the main driver of malignancy. Ewing sarcoma is a cancer diagnosed mostly in children and adolescents that has very grim outcomes for patients with metastasis and recurrent disease. Malignancy in Ewing sarcoma is due to EWS-FLI1, an aberrant transcription factor that is the result of a chromosomal translocation. EWS-FLI1 is the main driver of oncogenesis in Ewing sarcoma and has been the target of many drugs developed to treat the disease. Mithramycin (MTM) was identified as a potent inhibitor …

Antifungal Defense Molecules From Bacterial Symbionts Of North American Trachymyrmex Ants, Georgia Scherer

CMC Senior Theses

Defensive symbioses, in which microbes provide molecular defenses for an animal host, hold great potential as untapped sources of therapeutically useful antibiotics. Fungus-growing ants use antifungal defenses from bacterial symbionts to suppress pathogenic fungi in their nests. Preliminary chemical investigations of symbiotic bacteria from this large family of ants have uncovered novel antifungal molecules with therapeutic potential, such as dentigerumycin and selvamicin.

In this study, the bacterial symbionts of North American Trachymyrmex fungus-growing ants are investigated for antifungal molecules. Plate-based bioassays using ecologically-relevant fungal pathogens confirmed that these bacteria have antifungal activity. In order to purify and identify the antifungal …

Knowledge, Attitude And Practices (Kap) Towards Diet And Health Among International Students In Dublin: A Cross-Sectional Study, Xiyao Liu, Haoyue Chen, Qianling Zhou, Huifeng Zhang, Phensiri Asawasirisap, John Kearney

Articles

International students may have difficulties in dietary acculturation. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of diet and health during the acculturation of international students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 473 international students in Dublin. Knowledge, attitude and practices towards diet and health were evaluated by a questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions. It was found that 45.3% of participants had a broad concept of a healthy diet, while few knew its specific contents. Furthermore, 75.3% of participants could explain the term functional food, and among them, 62.1% knew the appropriate …

Atomic Force Microscopy (Afm) As A Surface Mapping Tool In Microorganisms Resistant Toward Antimicrobials: A Mini-Review, Zuzanna Grzeszczuk, Antoinette Rosillo, Oisin Owens, Sourav Bhattacharjee

Other resources

The worldwide emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses due to a plethora of reasons, such as genetic mutation and indiscriminate use of antimicrobials, is a major challenge faced by the healthcare sector today. One of the issues at hand is to effectively screen and isolate resistant strains from sensitive ones. Utilizing the distinct nanomechanical properties (e.g., elasticity, intracellular turgor pressure, and Young’s modulus) of microbes can be an intriguing way to achieve this; while atomic force microscopy (AFM), with or without modification of the tips, presents an effective way to investigate such biophysical properties …

Structural Features Of 1,3,4-Thiadiazole-Derived Ligands And Their Zn(Ii) And Cu(Ii) Complexes Which Demonstrate Synergistic Antibacterial Effects With Kanamycin, Dariusz Karcz, Arkadiusz Matwijczuk, Daniel Kaminski, Bernadette Creaven, Katarzyna Lecka-Szlachta, Karolina Starzak

Articles

Classical synthetic protocols were applied for the isolation of three novel 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives which were then complexed with the biologically important Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions. All free ligands and their corresponding complexes were characterized using a number of spectroscopic techniques including Ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis), Fluorescence, Infrared (FT-IR), tandem liquid chromatography-mass (LC-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (¹H, ¹³C, HSQC, HMBC). The results obtained are consistent with the formation of dihydrate complexes, in which the chelation of the metal ion occurs via one of the thiadiazole nitrogen atoms and the deprotonated hydroxyl group of the …

"Pcb Pandemic": How Polychlorinated Biphenyls Plagued The Hudson And Why Commercial Fishermen Were Left Behind, Morgan Averill Gray

Senior Projects Fall 2020

Senior Project Submitted to The Division of Multidisciplinary Studies of Bard College

Development Of A Method For The Detection And Quantification Of Various Benzodiazepines And Z-Drugs In Human Blood And Qualitative Identification In Urine Samples Using Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (Lc-Ms/Ms), Haley Michel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This method developed in the toxicology department at the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office (CCMEO) detects 40 benzodiazepines and metabolites along with several z-drugs in blood and urine by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. A sample amount of 0.5 mL was used to detect analytes in postmortem drug facilitated sexual assault and impaired driving cases. Twenty-nine analytes met criteria for quantification while the remaining 14 were used as qualitative indicators. Bias and precision results for quality controls met criteria, staying within ±15% except for clonazolam and etizolam which were within ±20%. Quantitative reporting criteria which included dilution integrity was met …

The Effects Of Staining Cyanobacteria With Sytoxgreen After Lysis By Freeze-Thaw And Lysis By Ethanol, Samantha Galambos

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project is to find the effects of staining toxic cyanobacteria with SYTOXGreen after lysis by freeze-thaw and lysis by ethanol. This project will focus on two strains of toxic cyanobacteria known as Aphanizomenon - A. flos-aquae and Planktothrix - P. agardhii. The live and dead cells are observed under blue and red fluorescent light to show the effectiveness of each lysis. It is important that this topic is researched because it is significantly affecting our waterways and sometimes drinking water. We often see that you cannot swim in Lake Erie due to algae, more specifically, these …

Toxic Trace Elements In Follicular Fluid, Oxidative Stress, And In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf) Outcomes, Celeste Danielle Butts

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Exposures to environmental contaminants, including non-essential toxic trace elements, may be associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. Follicular fluid (FF) envelops the developing oocyte, offering a “snapshot” of the oocyte microenvironment. FF may better estimate trace element concentrations associated with IVF outcomes than more commonly employed blood and urine biomarkers of exposure. Hence, FF concentrations of four widespread non-essential toxic trace elements (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead) were investigated in relation to a spectrum of IVF endpoints in n=56 women undergoing IVF. Antioxidant activity was explored as an intervening variable and dietary exposure sources of non-essential toxic trace elements …

Analysis Of Bacterial Dna And Water Quality: Surface Water Sampling At Gardner-Webb University, Celsea Reeder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Part 1 of this experiment was to explore the bacterial types within the surface water on the campus of Gardner-Webb University, located in Boiling Springs, NC. Two water samples were collected from four locations on campus, including the boiling spring, Lake Hollifield, and an adjacent creek. Using the Zymo Research “Quick-DNA^™ Fungal/Bacterial Miniprep Kit,” the bacterial DNA within these samples was isolated and sent to Psomagen, Inc. for analysis. The resulting DNA sequences were analyzed through BLAST, and subsequently interpreted. For the second part of this experiment, one surface water sample was taken from the boiling spring, and another …

Finding Brain Predictors Of Psychostimulant Medication Use In Adhd Using Machine Learning, Zoe Irene Hulce

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Psychostimulant medication is the first line of treatment for Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Despite the prevalence of ADHD, there is a lack of understanding of the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of the disorder and its pharmacological treatments. Existing neuroimaging research shows some consistent structural differences in ADHD, but it can be difficult to discern what is relevant. Machine learning algorithms present a novel way of analyzing a large amount of data by making predictions based on pattern detection.

The present study applied an elastic-net logistic machine learning model to structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development …

Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (Igf-1) Impacts P53-Regulated Gene Products In Uvb-Irradiated Human Keratinocytes And Skin Epidermis, Abdulrhaman Mohammed Mohammed Alkawwar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Skin cancer is the most prevalent human malignancy and is primarily caused by ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths of sunlight. However, the fact that most skin cancers occur in people over the age of 60 indicates that advantaged age is a second skin cancer risk factor. Why geriatric skin is prone to developing skin cancers is not clear, but several studies have shown that dermal fibroblasts in geriatric skin express lower levels of the hormone insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) than young adult skin and that deficient IGF-1 signaling negatively impacts how epidermal keratinocytes respond to UVB radiation. A major regulator of the …

Identification Of New Metabolic Mutations In The Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces Pombe That Sensitize The Cell To Hydroxyurea, Alaa Mahdi

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Cancer is a life-threatening illness and innovative research is therefore required to fuel the development of new anti-cancer therapies. As an anti-proliferative drug, hydroxyurea (HU) has been used in the treatment of various neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases such as sickle cell anemia, psoriasis, and viral infections. HU is a well-known inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), an enzyme that generates dNTPs for DNA replication and repair. In our genetic screen in fission yeast looking for mutants with defects in checkpoint response, we also found a set of mutants that are highly sensitive to HU but with a functional checkpoint response. It …

Host Abundance Correlates With Gulf War Illness Symptom Persistence Via Nlrp3-Mediated Neuroinflammation And Decreased Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Diana Kimono, Dipro Bose, Ratanesh K. Seth, Ayan Mondal, Punnag Saha, Patricia Janulewicz, Kimberly Sullivan, Stephen Lasley, Ronnie Horner, Nancy Klimas, Saurabh Chatterjee

Faculty Publications

Neurological disorders are commonly reported among veterans who returned from the Gulf war. Veterans who suffer from Gulf War illness (GWI) complain of continued symptom persistence that includes neurological disorders, muscle weakness, headaches, and memory loss, that developed during or shortly after the war. Our recent research showed that chemical exposure associated microbial dysbiosis accompanied by a leaky gut connected the pathologies in the intestine, liver, and brain. However, the mechanisms that caused the symptoms to persist even 30 years after the war remained elusive to investigators. In this study, we used a rodent model of GWI to investigate the …

Distribution And Evolution Of Fukushima Dai-Ichi Derived 137cs, 90sr, And 129i In Surface Seawater Off The Coast Of Japan, Jennifer A. Kenyon, Ken O. Buesseler, Núria Casacuberta, Maxi Castrillejo, Shigeyoshi Otosaka, Pere Masqué, Jessica A. Drysdale, Steven M. Pike, Virginie Sanial

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 American Chemical Society. The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plants (FDNPPs) accident in 2011 led to an unprecedented release of radionuclides into the environment. Particularly important are 90Sr and 137Cs due to their known health detriments and long half-lives (T1/2 ≈ 30 y) relative to ecological systems. These radionuclides can be combined with the longer-lived 129I (T1/2 = 15.7 My) to trace hydrologic, atmospheric, oceanic, and geochemical processes. This study seeks to evaluate 137Cs, 90Sr, and 129I concentrations in seawater off the coast of Japan, reconcile the sources of contaminated waters, and assess the application of 137Cs/90Sr, 129I/137Cs, and …