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Full-Text Articles in Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health

Lead-Contaminated Candies In Southern Nevada, Shawn Gerstenberger, Glenn Savage, Clayton Sellers, Keith Zupnik, Emmanuel C. Gorospe Sep 2007

Lead-Contaminated Candies In Southern Nevada, Shawn Gerstenberger, Glenn Savage, Clayton Sellers, Keith Zupnik, Emmanuel C. Gorospe

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Lead-contaminated candies from Latin America are beginning to gain attention in the public media1,2 and in the medical literature.3–5 These candies come from a number of sources and are manufactured outside Food and Drug Administration regulatory control. In 2005, we sampled 50 imported Latin American candies sold in Southern Nevada. A total of 20 (40%) tested positive with an average lead content of 1.46  0.27 mg/kg in the candies’ wrappers and straws, based on standard Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry methodology. Given these results, the Southern Nevada Health District issued a cease-and-desist order on February 13, 2006, to local …


Maturational Changes In Cerebrovascular Thick- And Thin-Filament Regulation, Renan Joel Sandoval May 2007

Maturational Changes In Cerebrovascular Thick- And Thin-Filament Regulation, Renan Joel Sandoval

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The present study focused on the main hypothesis that age-related changes in myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity involve simultaneous changes in the relations between cytosolic Ca2+ transients, myosin phosphorylation, and force development. To define the effects of late fetal and early postnatal maturation, parallel experiments were carried out using cerebral arteries from both term lamb fetuses (140-141 days of gestation) and nonpregnant adult sheep. Fetal and adult cerebral arteries were stimulated by either mechanically, electromechanically, and/or pharmacomechanically-induced contractions, and the relations of cytosolic Ca2+, MLC phosphorylation, and contractile tensions were measured. These measurements allowed for stimulus and age-dependent …


Regulation Of Alpha-1-Adrenoceptor-Mediated Contractions Of The Uterine Artery By Pkc, Hongying Zhang May 2007

Regulation Of Alpha-1-Adrenoceptor-Mediated Contractions Of The Uterine Artery By Pkc, Hongying Zhang

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Pregnancy is associated with a significant decrease in uterine vascular tone and a striking increase in uterine blood flow, which ensures normal fetal development. Multiple mechanisms are involved in the adaptation of uterine artery contractility during pregnancy. Both protein kinase C (PKC) and activation of ai-adrenoceptors play important roles in the regulation of uterine artery contractility. In addition, PKC mediates the pregnancyassociated decrease in myogenic tone of the uterine artery, and interacts with ajadrenoceptors leading to modulation of ai-adrenoceptor-mediated contractions of vascular smooth muscle. Yet, whether or to what extent PKC regulates ai-adrenoceptormediated contractions of the uterine artery and their …


Effects Of Angiotensin 1-7 On The Actions Of Angiotensin Ii In The Renal And Mesenteric Vasculature Of Hypertensive And Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats, Mohd Rais Mustafa, Murugan Dharmani, Francis I. Achike, Meng-Kwoon Sim Apr 2007

Effects Of Angiotensin 1-7 On The Actions Of Angiotensin Ii In The Renal And Mesenteric Vasculature Of Hypertensive And Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats, Mohd Rais Mustafa, Murugan Dharmani, Francis I. Achike, Meng-Kwoon Sim

Mohd Rais Mustafa

Angiotensin 1-7, a heptapeptide derived from metabolism of either angiotensin I or angiotensin II, is a biologically active peptide of the renin–angiotensin system. The present study investigated the effect of angiotensin 1-7 on the vasopressor action of angiotensin II in the renal and mesenteric vasculature of Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Angiotensin II-induced dose-dependent vasoconstrictions in the renal vasculature. The pressor response was enhanced in the SHR and reduced in the streptozotocin-diabetic rat compared to WKY rats. Angiotensin 1-7 attenuated the angiotensin II pressor responses in the renal vasculature of WKY and SHR rats. …


Expansion Of The Calcium Hypothesis Of Brain Aging And Alzheimer's Disease: Minding The Store, Olivier Thibault, John C. Gant, Philip W. Landfield Apr 2007

Expansion Of The Calcium Hypothesis Of Brain Aging And Alzheimer's Disease: Minding The Store, Olivier Thibault, John C. Gant, Philip W. Landfield

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

Evidence accumulated over more than two decades has implicated Ca2+ dysregulation in brain aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), giving rise to the Ca2+ hypothesis of brain aging and dementia. Electrophysiological, imaging, and behavioral studies in hippocampal or cortical neurons of rodents and rabbits have revealed aging-related increases in the slow afterhyperpolarization, Ca2+ spikes and currents, Ca2+transients, and L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channel (L-VGCC) activity. Several of these changes have been associated with age-related deficits in learning or memory. Consequently, one version of the Ca2+ hypothesis has been that increased L-VGCC activity drives many of the other Ca2+-related biomarkers of hippocampal aging. …


Contamination Levels Of Selected Organochlorine And Organophosphate Pesticides In The Selangor River, Malaysia Between 2002 To 2003, Kok Hoong Leong Jan 2007

Contamination Levels Of Selected Organochlorine And Organophosphate Pesticides In The Selangor River, Malaysia Between 2002 To 2003, Kok Hoong Leong

Kok Hoong Leong

In Malaysia, rivers are the main source of public water supplies. This study was conducted from 2002 to 2003 to determine the levels of selected organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in the Selangor River in Malaysia. Surface water samples have been collected seasonally from nine sites along the river. A liquid–liquid extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry technique was used to determine the trace levels of these pesticide residues. The organochlorine pesticides detected were lindane, heptachlor, endosulfan, dieldrin, endosulfan sulfate, o,p′-DDT, p,p′-DDT, o,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDE whereas for organophosphate pesticides, they were chlorpyrifos and diazinon. At the river upstream where a dam …


Healing Our Hazardous Environment, K V. Hall, B M. Afzal, Barbara Sattler Jan 2007

Healing Our Hazardous Environment, K V. Hall, B M. Afzal, Barbara Sattler

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.


Modulation Of Vascular Reactivity In Normal, Hypertensive And Diabetic Rat Aortae By A Non-Antioxidant Flavonoid, Mohd Rais Mustafa, Macha Ajay, Fracis I. Achike Jan 2007

Modulation Of Vascular Reactivity In Normal, Hypertensive And Diabetic Rat Aortae By A Non-Antioxidant Flavonoid, Mohd Rais Mustafa, Macha Ajay, Fracis I. Achike

Mohd Rais Mustafa

In this study, we report the effects of a non-antioxidant flavonoid flavone on vascular reactivity in Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rat isolated aortae. Whether flavone directly modulates vascular reactivity in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic-WKY rat isolated aortae was also determined. Thoracic aortic rings were mounted in organ chambers and exposed to various drug treatments in the presence of flavone or its vehicle (DMSO), which served as control. Pretreatment with flavone enhanced relaxant effects to endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine (ACh) and attenuated contractile effects to 1-receptor agonist phenylephrine (PE) in WKY aortae compared to those observed in control aortic rings. Flavone …


The Status Of Childhood Lead Poisoning And Prevention In Nevada, Usa, Anne Rothweiler, Elena E. Cabb, Shawn Gerstenberger Jan 2007

The Status Of Childhood Lead Poisoning And Prevention In Nevada, Usa, Anne Rothweiler, Elena E. Cabb, Shawn Gerstenberger

Environmental & Occupational Health Faculty Publications

One of the first steps in addressing the problem of childhood lead poisoning is to identify the possible sources of exposure in specific communities and target high-risk populations with appropriate interventions. Due to several factors, such as lack of funding and lack of blood lead reporting, little information exists regarding the occurrence of childhood lead poisoning and the prevalence of potential exposure sources in the state of Nevada. Following the recent establishment of a Nevada-based Lead Poisoning Program, we compiled the most current information available on Nevadans, and use this knowledge to suggest future research objectives and outreach activities for …


Xenobiotic Transporters In Lactating Mammary Epithelial Cells: Predictions For Drug Accumulation In Breast Milk, Philip Earle Empey Jan 2007

Xenobiotic Transporters In Lactating Mammary Epithelial Cells: Predictions For Drug Accumulation In Breast Milk, Philip Earle Empey

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Recent literature has established that breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2) is upregulated during lactation and is responsible for the greater than predicted accumulation of many drugs in breast milk. The objectives of this project were (1) to investigate the role of this transporter in the reported apically-directed nitrofurantoin flux in the CIT3 cell culture model of lactation, (2) to develop a mathematical model for drug transfer into breast milk to relate initial flux rates, steady-state concentrations, efflux ratios, and in vivo milk to serum ratios (M/S) and (3) to identify xenobiotic transporters that are highly expressed, and therefore potentially important …


Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of 10-N-Substituted Acridones As Novel Chemosensitizers In Plasmodium Falciparum, Jane X. Kelly, Martin J. Smilkstein, Roland A. Cooper, Kristin D. Lane, Robert A. Johnson, Aaron Janowsky, Rozalia A. Dodean, David J. Hinrichs, Rolf Winter, Michael Riscoe Jan 2007

Design, Synthesis, And Evaluation Of 10-N-Substituted Acridones As Novel Chemosensitizers In Plasmodium Falciparum, Jane X. Kelly, Martin J. Smilkstein, Roland A. Cooper, Kristin D. Lane, Robert A. Johnson, Aaron Janowsky, Rozalia A. Dodean, David J. Hinrichs, Rolf Winter, Michael Riscoe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

A series of novel 10-N-substituted acridones, bearing alkyl side chains with tertiary amine groups at the terminal position, were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for the ability to enhance the potency of quinoline drugs against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites. A number of acridone derivatives, with side chains bridged three or more carbon atoms apart between the ring nitrogen and terminal nitrogen, demonstrated chloroquine (CQ)-chemosensitizing activity against the MDR strain of P. falciparum (Dd2). Isobolograrn analysis revealed that selected candidates demonstrated significant synergy with CQ in the CQ-resistant (CQR) parasite Dd2 but only additive (or indifferent) interaction in the CQ-sensitive …