Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

The Benefits Of Astaxanthin To Improve Pain Relief In Patients With Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: An Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial, Rizaldy Taslim Pinzon, Mary Rose Angelina Budi Harsana

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Treatment of diabetic neuropathy is still carried out by providing symptomatic therapy, which only improves ± 50% of the total symptoms felt by patients, but does not tackle the underlying causes of the disease. Astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic carotenoid that could be an additional treatment option. We aimed to measure the effectiveness of administering astaxanthin as an additional therapy to improve the impact of pain and discomfort experienced daily by diabetes mellitus patients with painful diabetic neuropathy. We conducted a randomized experimental study with an open label design of 36 patients who had been diagnosed with …

Heavy Metal Contamination And Potential Ecological Risks In Surface Sediments Along Dar Es Salaam Harbour Channel, Benard Mwakisunga, Harishchandra B. Pratap, John F. Machiwa, Flora Stephano

Tanzania Journal of Science

Investigation of heavy metal contamination along Dar es Salaam harbour channel was carried out in order to determine their current concentrations, sources and potential ecological risks to benthic biota. Sampling was carried out from January to May 2019 and samples analysed using ICP-OES and C-H-N-S analyser. Analysis of heavy metal relationships showed that, Cu, Zn, Cr, As, Ni, Co, Fe, Cd had strong relationships with each other, while Pb only related to Zn. Principal component analysis partitioned metals into two groups; PC1: Ni, Cr, Fe, Co, As, Cu, Cd, and Zn explaining 73.6% variance and PC2: Pb, Zn, and Cd …

Adipose-Specific Pparα Knockout Mice Have Increased Lipogenesis By Pask–Srebp1 Signaling And A Polarity Shift To Inflammatory Macrophages In White Adipose Tissue, Terry D. Hinds, Jr., Zachary A. Kipp, Mei Xu, Frederique B. Yiannikouris, Andrew J. Morris, Donald F. Stec, Walter Wahli, David E. Stec

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

The nuclear receptor PPARα is associated with reducing adiposity, especially in the liver, where it transactivates genes for β-oxidation. Contrarily, the function of PPARα in extrahepatic tissues is less known. Therefore, we established the first adipose-specific PPARα knockout (Ppara^FatKO) mice to determine the signaling position of PPARα in adipose tissue expansion that occurs during the development of obesity. To assess the function of PPARα in adiposity, female and male mice were placed on a high-fat diet (HFD) or normal chow for 30 weeks. Only the male Ppara^FatKO animals had significantly more adiposity in the inguinal white …

Real-Time Monitoring Of Cell Death Progress Using Capacitance Spectroscopy, Suyang Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biologics, including the monoclonal antibody (mAb), has experienced rapid development in the last decade. However, the price of biologics is often prohibitively high because of the low process efficiency. Delaying the inevitable cell death improves the productivity of upstream bioprocessing, whose success relies on monitoring the cell death onset that indicates the timing for preventive actions.

This study proposes to develop a real-time monitoring model that quantifies the dying cell percentage in lab-scale bioreactors using capacitance spectroscopy. The capacitance spectroscopy contains cell death-related information due to various physical properties changes during the cell death process, e.g., cytoplasmic conductivity change. The …

Who Pays To Clean Up What A Dying Industry Leaves Behind?, Audrey Carleton

Capstones

As the birthplace of oil and gas, Pennsylvania is home to the highest number of orphaned abandoned oil and gas wells in the country — an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 dot the Keystone State, all remnants of a dying industry. These wells emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and have, for decades, caused alarm to hundreds of residents, documents obtained in a months-long capstone investigation show. The state is currently plugging 10 to 12 abandoned wells per year, on average, out of hundreds of thousands, in part because it has not collected enough in cleanup funds from producers to fund …

Hyperlocal Air Quality Exposure Assessment To Support Health Studies, Pradeep Prathibha

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Hyperlocal air pollution exposure is driven by local emission sources, meteorology, and the built environment, with traffic-related emissions modulating primary and secondary pollutant concentrations against a variable background of similar contaminants from other sources. Recent studies show that intra-urban air quality has temporally persistent patterns that sharply vary 5-8 times within a city block; currently, regulatory ambient air quality monitoring (2-5 fixed-site monitors per 1000 km2 in U.S. census urban areas) cannot capture exposure at this spatial resolution. This dissertation aims to advance methods relying on fixed-site and mobile measurements using high-time resolution aerosol instruments as well as low-cost sensors …

“Data Architecture For Pharmaceutical Product Development At Alkermes”, Peter Couture, Damon Warnock, Marcus O'Mahony

Level 3

This paper describes how Alkermes built a data architecture for efficient management of non-GXP and R&D data. Using a ‘Create’, ‘Store’, Describe’ ‘Access’ stepwise model, the ingredients to making the journey a success are described.

Acknowledgment Of Reviewers

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

No abstract provided.

Molecular Cartography Of Residue Pesticides On Grape Surface In 3d By Ambient Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Hung Su, Tiao-Lai Huang, Cheng-Ting Chi, Yi-Tzu Cho, Chi-Wei Lee, Jingyueh Jeng, Jentaie Shiea

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Thermal desorption-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (TD-ESI/MS/MS) was used to characterize the residual pesticides that were collected from the surface of a grape with metallic sampling probes. Fungicides, insecticides, and miticides were detected, where results were validated by simple solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analyses. To explore the distribution of pesticide residues on grape surfaces, 149 locations of a grape surface were collected and followed by TD-ESI/MS/MS analysis. The molecular cartography was then generated from analysis of residual pesticides on the grape surface in 3D.

Variations In Bovine Milk Oligosaccharides After Calving Using P-Aminobenzoic Ethyl Ester Closed-Ring Labeling And Negative Ion Electrospray Lc/Ms/Ms, Han-Ju Chien, Yi-Chun Ma, Yi-Feng Zheng, Cheng-Yu Kuo, Wei-Chen Wang, Guor-Rong Her, Chien-Chen Lai

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

A strategy was proposed to analyze bovine milk oligosaccharides using p-aminobenzoic ethyl ester (ABEE) closed-ring labeling and C18 capillary liquid chromatography negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Linkage specific fragment ions were used to identify oligosaccharide isomers. By constructing the mass chromatograms using linkage specific fragment ions, isomers were differentiated based on m/z values as well as temporal separation provided by liquid chromatography. In addition to disialyllactose and the single isomer lacto-N-neohexaose, four pairs of linkage isomers including 3’/6’-sialyllactose (3’/6’-SL), 3’/6’-sialyllactosamine (3’/6’-SLN), 3’/6’-sialylgalactosyl-lactose (3’/6’-SGL), and lacto-N-tetraose/lacto-N-neotetraose (LNT/LNnT) in bovine milk were investigated. Variations of bovine milk oligosaccharides in a …

Analysis Of Heterocyclic Aromatic Amines Using Selective Extraction By Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymers Coupled With Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry, Shih-Ci Jhu, Jing-Ying Wang, Hsueh-Ting Wang, Sung-Fang Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Heterocyclic aromatic amines (HCAs) are highly carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals. This study reports on the development of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) for the purification and quantification of HCAs. A novel magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer was successfully prepared using a surface molecular imprinting method using functionalized Fe particles as the magnetic cores. 2-Amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) was used as a molecular template; methacrylic acid (MAA), ethylene glycol dimethyl acrylate (EGDMA), 2, 2′-Azobis (2-methylpropionitrile) were used as the functional monomer, crosslinker, and initiator, respectively. The use of the template/functional monomer/crosslinking agent at a ratio of 1:4:20 resulted in a product with better adsorption …

The Impact Of The Rare Disease And Orphan Drug Act In Taiwan, Ning-Chun Hsiang, Weng-Foung Huang, Churn-Shiouh Gau, Teng-Wen Tsai, Lin-Chau Chang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

The Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Act (the Act) was enacted in 2000 in Taiwan for the facilitation of the research, development, and accessibility of orphan drugs and special nutritional foods; for the prevention and early diagnosis of rare diseases; and for providing intensive care for patients with rare diseases. The aim was to investigate the impact of the Act on the availability and use of orphan drugs in Taiwan in the hope of identifying the remaining challenges and possible solutions to assist future policy making, which may be applicable in other countries as well. The information and statistics for …

Determination Of Quetiapine And Its Metabolites In Plasma By Field-Enhanced Sample Stacking, Tai-Ling Liu, Li-Shan Fang, Jing-Ru Liou, Jia-Shan Dai, Yen-Ling Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug that can be used to treat mental disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Quetiapine is mainly converted into the active metabolites of norquetiapine and 7-hydroxyquetiapine by the liver enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP2D6. In this study, liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) was used as a sample pretreatment method to eliminate interferences in plasma. tert-Butyl methyl ether was chosen as the extraction solvent. Field-enhanced sample injection (FESS), an online preconcentration technique, was used to analyze quetiapine and its metabolites norquetiapine and 7-hydroxyquetiapine in plasma. The optimal separation condition was 120 mM phosphate (pH 4.0) containing …

Quantitative Analysis Of Fragrance Allergens In Various Matrixes Of Cosmetics By Liquid-Liquid Extraction And Gc-Ms, Chia-Hui Lu, Ming-Chih Fang, Yu-Zi Chen, Shou-Chieh Huang, Der-Yuan Wang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Fragrances are the most common chemicals in cosmetics to which people expose every day. However, the unwanted allergic reactions such as contact dermatitis caused by direct contact with fragrances may happen. In Directive 2003/15/EC of the EU, cosmetic product containing one or more of 26 fragrance allergens must be declared on the package label. In addition, commission regulation (EU) 2017/1410 amending Annexes II and III of cosmetic regulation 1223/2009 restricted fragrance chemical of methyl eugenol, and prohibited Lyral, atranol, chloroatranol to be used in cosmetic. In this study, an efficient and sensitive GC-MS method for 3 banned fragrances, 26 fragrance …

Diagnostic Ions Guided 2d-Locating Strategy For Characterization Of Chemical Analogues In Complex Herbal Medicines Using Liquid Chromatography-Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry, Meng-Ning Li, Zi-Xuan Zhang, Hui-Ying Wang, Wen Gao, Ping Li, Hua Yang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Rapid characterization of chemical analogues in potentially toxic complex matrix was essential for prevention of accidental poisoning. On the basis of the fragment ions possessed not only the same retention times (RT) but the same drift times (DT) on liquid chromatography-ion mobility-mass spectrometry (LC-IM-MS), an alternating frames (AF)-data independent acquisition (DIA) was utilized for simultaneous detection and rapid match of precursor/product ions with a fast switch of low/high collision energy (CE). A diagnostic ions guided 2D-locating strategy was developed for identification of chemical analogues in potentially toxic herbal medicines using LC-IM-MS. Firstly, the 2D-locations (RT, DT) of diagnostic ions were …

Pharmacokinetics Of Panduratin A Following Oral Administration Of A Boesenbergia Pandurata Extract To Rats, Jihyun Won, Keumhan Noh, Jae-Kwan Hwang, Beom Soo Shin, Wonku Kang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Boesenbergia pandurata and its major active ingredient, panduratin A (PAN), exhibit antibacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obesity effects. We explored the time course of the plasma and tissue (in the major organs, gums and skin) concentrations of PAN after oral administration of a B. pandurata extract to rats. Model-dependent analysis was used to quantify the skin distribution of PAN after systemic exposure. The PAN level peaked at 1.12 ± 0.22 μg/mL after 3 h, and then biexponentially decayed with a terminal half-life of 9 h. The mean clearance (Cl/F) was 2.33 ± 0.68 L/h/kg. The PAN levels in organs were in …

Identification Of Oxytocin Receptor Activating Chemical Components From Traditional Japanese Medicines, Yuko Maejima, Shoichiro Horita, Shoko Yokota, Tomoyuki Ono, Peter Proks, Hiromi Yoshida-Komiya, Yoichi Ueta, Katsuhiko Nishimori, Shingen Misaka, Kenju Shimomura

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Oxytocin (Oxt) is known to regulate social communication, stress and body weight. The activation of Oxt receptors (OTR) has clinical potential to abate stress disorders and metabolic syndrome. Kamikihito (KKT) is a traditional Japanese medicine used to treat psychological stress-related disorders. We investigated the effects of KKT, its ingredients and chemical components on Oxt neurons and OTR. C-Fos expression was examined after oral and peripheral administration of KKT in rats. Electrophysiological change of Oxt neurons and Oxt release upon application of KKT were measured in rat brain slice. The direct effect of KKT, its ingredients and its chemical components were …

A Novel Nrf2/Are Inhibitor Gossypol Induces Cytotoxicity And Sensitizes Chemotherapy Responses In Chemo-Refractory Cancer Cells, Ya-Chu Tang, Hsin-Huei Chang, Huang-Hui Chen, Jau-Ying Yao, Yu-Tsen Chen, Yung-Jen Chuang, Jang-Yang Chang, Ching-Chuan Kuo

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

NRF2/ARE signaling pathway is a principal regulator of cellular redox homoeostasis. The stress-induced transcription factor, NRF2, can shield cells from the oxidative damages via binding to the consensus antioxidant-responsive element (ARE) and driving several cyto-protective genes expression. Increasing evidence indicated that aberrant activation of NRF2 in malignant cells may support their survival through various pathways to detoxify chemotherapy drugs, attenuate drug-induced oxidative stress, or induce drug efflux, all of which are crucial in developing drug resistance. Accordingly, NRF2 is a potential drug target for improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy and to reverse drug resistance in cancer cells. A stable ARE-driven …

Curcumin-Induced Antitumor Effects On Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Patient-Derived Xenograft Tumor Mice Through Inhibiting Salt-Induced Kinase-3 Protein, Tzu-Chun Cheng, John Oliver Sayseng, Shih-Hsin Tu, Ting-Ching Juan, Chia-Lang Fang, You-Cheng Liao, Cheng-Ying Chu, Hui-Wen Chang, Yun Yen, Li-Ching Chen, Yuan-Soon Ho

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

This study demonstrated for the first time that curcumin effectively inhibits the growth of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumors by inhibiting the expression of salt-induced kinase-3 (SIK3) protein in patient-derived xenografted tumor mice (TNBC-PDX). For TNBC patients, chemotherapy is the only option for postoperative adjuvant treatment. In this study, we detected the SIK3 mRNA expression in paired-breast cancer tissues by PCR analysis. The results revealed that SIK3 mRNA expression was significantly higher in tumor tissues when compared to the normal adjacent tissues (73.25 times, n=183). Thus, it is proposed for the first time that the antitumor effect induced by curcumin …

Anti-Lymphangiogenic Diterpenes From The Bark Of Calocedrus Macrolepis Var. Formosana, Tzong-Huei Lee, Chin-Lin Hsieh, Ho-Cheng Wu, Shih-Wei Wang, Chen-Lin Yu, George Hsiao, Ming-Jen Cheng, Wen-Tsong Hsieh, Yueh-Hsiung Kuo

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Eight new diterpenes, 6α,7β-dihydroxyferruginol (1), 6α,7α-dihydroxyferruginol (2), 6α-hydroxyhinokiol (3), 4α-hydroxy-7-oxo-18-norabieta-8,11,13-trien-4α-ol (4a), 15,16-dehydrosugiol (5), 7-methoxy-6,7-secoabieta-8,11,13-triene-6,12-diol (6), 7α-acetoxyabieta-8,12-diene-11,14-dione (7), 7α-butyloxyethyloxyabieta-8,12-diene-11,14-dione (8), along with four known compounds, 6,7-dehydroferruginol (9), 12-hydroxy-6,7-secoabieta-8,11,13-triene-6,7-dial (10), 7α-11-dihydroxy-12-methoxy-8,11,13-abietatriene (11), and 11,14-dihydroxy-8,11,13-abietatrien-7-one (12) were successfully isolated from the bark of Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana. The structures of all isolates were elucidated by physical data (appearance, UV, IR, optical rotation) and spectroscopic data (1D, 2D NMR, and HREIMS). Compounds 9, 10, 11, and 12 showed promising growth-inhibitory effect on human lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). Among these compounds, compound 10 exerted the most potent anti-lymphangiogenesis property by suppressing cell growth and …

Medicarpin Isolated From Radix Hedysari Ameliorates Brain Injury In A Murine Model Of Cerebral Ischemia, Chang-Ming Chern, Chung-Kuang Lu, Kuo-Tong Liou, Yea-Hwey Wang, Keng-Chang Tsai, Chia-Lin Chang, Chia-Che Chang, Yuh-Chiang Shen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

The development of effective post-stroke therapy is highly demanded. Medicarpin is a key active component of a famous Chinese herbal prescription used for post-stroke treatment in Taiwan; however, little is known about its biological effects and mechanisms of action. Herein, we implemented a murine model of cerebral ischemic/reperfusional injury-related stroke to elucidate medicarpin’s neuroprotective effect. In male ICR mice 24 h after stroke induction, treatment with medicarpin (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg, i.v.) markedly enhanced the survival rates, improved moving distance and walking area coverage, reduced brain infarction, and preserved the blood-brain barrier, supporting medicarpin’s protective effect on stroke-induced injury. Immunohistochemistry …

In-Silico Efficacy Of Potential Phytomolecules From Ayurvedic Herbs As An Adjuvant Therapy In Management Of Covid-19, Bhanu Kumar, Ankita Misra, Satyendra Pratap Singh, Yogeshwar Vikram Dhar, Poonam Rawat, Debprasad Chattopadhyay, Saroj Kanta Barik, Sharad Srivastava

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

The recent COVID-19 outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has sparked a new spectrum of investigations, research and studies in multifarious directions. Efforts are being made around the world for discovery of effective vaccines/drugs against COVID-19. In this context, Ayurveda, an alternative traditional system of medicine in India may work as an adjuvant therapy in compromised patients. We selected 40 herbal leads on the basis of their traditional applications. The phytomolecules from these leads were further screened through in-silico molecular docking against two main targets of SARS-CoV-2 i.e. the spike protein (S; structural protein) and the main protease (M^{PRO …}

Conducting Polymer-Based Sensors For Food And Drug Analysis, Chia-Hsin Lin, Jia-Hui Lin, Chien-Fu Chen, Yoshihiro Ito, Shyh-Chyang Luo

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Conducting polymers (CPs) are a category of polymeric materials with conjugated main chains. The characteristic electrical and optical properties of CPs can be fine-tuned through controlling the doping states of CPs. Because of their long-term stability in water, CPs have been demonstrated as electroactive biointerfaces and electrode materials especially in aqueous environments. Serving as multifunctional interfaces and organic electrodes for the integration bioelectronics and devices, CPs have been studied and applied in various biological applications. This paper provides a review of conducting polymer–based electrochemical sensors, particularly those used in biological fields. General conducting polymers and derivatives and their main electrochemical …

Recent Developments In Sensing Of Oversulfated Chondroitin Sulfate In Heparin. A Review ., Manivannan Madhu, Wei-Lung Tseng

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS), a non-natural sulfated glycosaminoglycan, recognizes as a significant containment in the pharmaceutical heparin, and it could trigger adverse reactions. Chromatography-, electrophoresis-, electrochemistry-, and spectroscopy-related techniques are currently available for accurate and precise analysis of a trace amount of OSCS in heparin. Recently, emerging studies focus on developing colorimetric and fluorescent probes to monitor OSCS containments in heparin. Therefore, this current review aims to describe the sensing principle and procedure of the reported probes that are sensitive and selective toward OSCS in heparin without the interferences of other sulfated glycosaminoglycans. The reported OSCS-specific probes are comprehensively discussed …

Impact Of Theory-Based Interventions On Meaningfulness Of Undergraduate Nursing Pharmacology Student Learning, Betsy L. Mauldin

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Nursing pharmacology is a complex and content-dense course, often cited as difficult for nurse educators and students and a reason for not progressing in nursing curricula. Even nurses who experience high academic performance report feeling ill-prepared to adequately perform medication management for nursing practice in the current fast-paced environment. The objective of this five-chapter portfolio is to explain the development and implementation of a two-pronged intervention to facilitate meaningful learning of pharmacology principles within nursing students. Chapter 1 describes an overview of the approach to the intervention.

Methods: Chapter 2 describes one prong of the study intervention, the Pharmacology …

Visualizing Phytochemical-Protein Interaction Networks: Momordica Charantia And Cancer, Yumi L. Briones, Alexander T. Young, Fabian M. Dayrit, Armando Jerome De Jesus, Nina Rosario L. Rojas

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The in silico study of medicinal plants is a rapidly growing field. Techniques such as reverse screening and network pharmacology are used to study the complex cellular action of medicinal plants against disease. However, it is difficult to produce a meaningful visualization of phytochemical-protein interactions (PCPIs) in the cell. This study introduces a novel workflow combining various tools to visualize a PCPI network for a medicinal plant against a disease. The five steps are 1) phytochemical compilation, 2) reverse screening, 3) network building, 4) network visualization, and 5) evaluation. The output is a PCPI network that encodes multiple dimensions of …

Improving Care For Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Through The Use Of A Personal Electrocardiogram, Teresa Praus, Jonathan Li, Svetlana Barbarash, Manuel Proenza, Mary D. Bondmass

Nursing Faculty Research

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia affecting more than six million people in the United States. The economic burden is estimated to be >$6 billion annually with catastrophic events dramatically increasing expenditure. When patients experience symptoms, they commonly present to an acute care facility; this can be costly and anxiety provoking. Local problem: Same-day access issues prohibit patients from communicating directly with their cardiology provider, forcing them to use resources and increasing psychological burden.Methods:A convenience sample, made up of 43 patients, was given a KardiaMobile device. Eligible patients had ≥2 AF-related emergency department (ED) or urgent care …

Comparative Toxicity, Phytochemistry, And Use Of 53 Philippine Medicinal Plants, Lydia M. Clemen-Pascual, Rene Angelo S. Macahig, Nina Rosario L. Rojas

Chemistry Faculty Publications

The study compares the toxicity of 53 selected medicinal plants commonly used in the Philippines to treat various diseases. It uses as a benchmark Vitex negundo L., which was approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration as an herbal drug for cough and asthma after passing clinical trials for safety and efficacy. The methods were chosen for their simplicity and accessibility even for resource-limited laboratories. Extracts (95 % ethanol) of the medicinal parts of the plants were (1) chemically profiled using qualitative phytochemical tests that detect the presence of key classes of bioactive compounds; and (2) evaluated for toxicity …

Combining Community Wastewater Genomic Surveillance With State Clinical Surveillance: A Framework For Sars-Cov-2 Public Health Practice., Ted Smith, Rochelle H. Holm, Ray Yeager, Joseph B. Moore Iv, Eric C. Rouchka, Kevin J. Sokoloski, Daymond Talley, Vaneet Arora, Sarah Moyer, Aruni Bhatnagar

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Study objective: To garner a framework for combining community wastewater surveillance with state clinical surveillance that influence confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 variants within the community, and recommend how the flow of such research evidence could be expanded and employed for public health response. Design, setting, and participants: This work involved analyzing wastewater samples collected weekly from 17 geographically resolved locations in Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky from February 10 to November 29, 2021. Genomic surveillance and RT-qPCR platforms were used as screening to identify SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, and state clinical surveillance was used for confirmation. Main results: The results demonstrate increased epidemiological value …

A Better Way, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

Alane O’Connor ’96 studied environmental economics at Colby. Associate Professor of Statistics Liam O’Brien first studied physics and mathematics.Together the pair has combined their broad experience to produce groundbreaking research that is changing the way clinicians around the world treat pregnant and opioid-addicted women and their unborn children.