Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Mechanistic Effect Models For Ecological Risk Assessment Of Chemicals (Memorisk) — A New Setac-Europe Advisory Group, Thomas G. Preuss, Udo Hommen, Anne Alix, Roman Ashauer, Paul Van Den Brink, Peter Chapman, Virginie Ducrot, Valery E. Forbes, Volker Grimm, Dieter Schäfer, Franz Streissl, Pernille Thorbek

Valery Forbes Publications

Recent reviews of the state-of-the-art of ecological modeling for risk assessments have highlighted the need for standardization of modeling approaches (Pastorok et al. 2003; Grimm et al. 2009). Such standardization requires concerted actions with all stakeholders involved in the regulatory process.

Therefore, a new SETAC-Europe Advisory Group on “Mechanistic effect models for ecological risk assessment of chemicals” (MEMoRisk) was established in autumn 2008. During the SETAC-Europe Annual Meeting in Warsaw in May 2008, 21 people joined the founding meeting where the necessity, scope and aim of such a group were discussed. A founding steering committee (the authors of this paper) …

Ecological Models In Support Of Regulatory Risk Assessments Of Pesticides: Developing A Strategy For The Future [Short Communication], Valery E. Forbes, Udo Hommen, Pernille Thorbek, Fred Heimbach, Paul J. Van Den Brink, Jörn Wogram, Hans-Hermann Thulke, Volker Grimm

Valery Forbes Publications

This brief communication reports on the main findings of the LEMTOX workshop, held from September 9 to 12,2007, at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany. The workshop brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from academia, regulatory authorities, contract research organizations, and industry, representing Europe, the United States, and Asia, to discuss the role of ecological modeling in risk assessments of pesticides, particularly under the European regulatory framework. The following questions were addressed: What are the potential benefits of using ecological models in pesticide registration and risk assessment? What obstacles prevent ecological modeling from being used …

The Amphipod Orchomenella Pinguis — A Potential Bioindicator For Contamination In The Arctic, Lis Bach, Valery E. Forbes, Ingela Dahllöf

Valery Forbes Publications

Indigenous organisms can be used as bioindicators for effects of contaminants, but no such bioindicator has been established for Arctic areas. Orchomenella pinguis is a benthic amphipod, ubiquitous in the Arctic and can be found in high numbers. We collected O. pinguis at sites with different contamination levels. Population characteristics (body length distribution, average dry weight and amphipod organic content) were related to sediment contaminant concentrations, in order to identify suitable endpoints for using this species as a bioindicator. We show that O. pinguis was prevalent in both clean and contaminated areas, easy to sample and that its population characteristics …

Compensatory Evolution Of Gene Regulation In Response To Stress By Escherichia Coli Lacking Rpos, Daniel M. Stoebel, Karsten Hokamp, Michael S. Last, Charles J. Dorman

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

The RpoS sigma factor protein of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase is the master transcriptional regulator of physiological responses to a variety of stresses. This stress response comes at the expense of scavenging for scarce resources, causing a trade-off between stress tolerance and nutrient acquisition. This trade-off favors non-functional rpoS alleles in nutrient-poor environments. We used experimental evolution to explore how natural selection modifies the regulatory network of strains lacking RpoS when they evolve in an osmotically stressful environment. We found that strains lacking RpoS adapt less variably, in terms of both fitness increase and changes in patterns of transcription, than …

Biomaterial As Nanobiopharmaceuticals, Murugan Veerapandian, Mohana Marimuthu, Kyu-Sik Yun, Sanghyo Kim

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

The development of wide spectrum of drug delivery systems is fundamental importance to change the establishment of disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The fusion technologies of material science and nanomedicine have emerged as a new alternative...

Evaluation Of Antityrosinase And Antioxidant Activities Of Raphanus Sativus Root: Comparison Between Freeze-Dried Juice And Methanolic Extract, Rattanamanee Jakmatakul, Rutt Suttisri, Parkpoom Tengamnuay

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Two types of extracts (freeze-dried juice and methanolic extract) from the root of Thai radish (Raphanus sativus L.) were evaluated for antityrosinase and antioxidant activities to determine their potential as a skin-whitening and anti-aging agent in cos...

Downstreaming And Purification Of Lovastatin From Monascus Purpureus Culture, Ajaz Ahmad, Bibhu Prasad, Shamshir Khan, Mohd. All, Saleem Javed

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Lovastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase was produced using M onascus purpureus strain. A new extraction procedure was applied which yielded 737mg of lovastatin per liter of synthetic medium from in to to culture. Purification of extracted lovastati...

Pharmaceutically Equivalent Parenteral Depot Suspension Of Methyl Prednisolone Acetate, A. Alam, J. Ali, A. Ahuja, S. Baboota, S.K. Gidwani, Y.S. Bhide, F. Shakeel

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

The aim of the present study was to formulate and evaluate pharmaceutically equivalent injectable aqueous suspension for parenteral depot of methyl prednisolone acetate (MPA). Various aqueous suspensions were prepared by rapid stirring and colloid millin...

Glutathione S-Transferase Polymorphisms And Risk Of Bladder Cancer In Thais, Kannika Pradubkaew, Pornpen Pramyothin, Chanin Limwongse, Payiarat Suwannasri, Anunchai Assawamakin

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

In this study, we determine the association of glutathione S-transferase Mu-1 gene (G STM1), glutathione S-transferase Pi-1 gene (GSTP1) and glutathione S-transferase Theta-1 gene (GSTT1) polymorphisms and the risk of bladder cancer in Thais. One hundred...

Acute Oral Toxicity Studies Of Antipsoriatic Herbal Mixture Comprising Of Aqueous Extracts Of Calendula Officinalis, Momordica Charantia, Cassia Tora And Azadirachta Indica Seed Oil, Roopashree Ts, Raman Dang, Shobha Rani Rh, Narendra C

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Aqueous extracts of Calendula officinalis, Momordica charantia, Cassia tora and A zadirachta indica seed oil have been used individually for treating skin diseases such as psoriasis in traditional system of medicine. Though the individual herbal extracts...

Effects Of The Standard Extract Of Centella Asiatica (Eca233) On Rat Hepatic Cytochrome P450, Kornphimol Kulthong, Mayuree H., Nuansri Niwattisaiwong, Khemchat Apipalakul, Songpol Chevapat, Somsong Lawanprasert

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (Umbelliferae) has been used traditionally in various diseases. The aim of this study was to examine subchronic effects of the standard extract of c. asiatica (ECa233) on hepatic xenobiotic/drug metabolizing enzymes, particul...

Floating Matrix Tablets Of Domperidone: Formulation And Optimization Using Simplex Lattice Design, Shailesh T. Prajapati, Laxmanbhai D., Chhaganbhai N. Patel

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

One method of achieving sustained drug release is by the use of hydrophilic polymeric excipients directly compressed with active ingredients into tablets. Hydrophilic polymers swell in the presence of water to form hydrogel structures from which drugs ar...

Screening Of Antifungal Activities Of Barks Of Cinnamomum Species, M. Maridass

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Antifungal activity of the essential oil from Cinnamomum species have been evaluated in this present study. Essential oils were collected through hydro distillation for 4 h from barks of C. sulphuratum, C. walaiwarense, C. travancoricum and C. malabatrum...

Effects Of Longan Seed Extract On Scopolamine-Induced Learning And Memory Deficit In Mice, Nattanan Losuwannarak, Cholatit Pasadhika, Mayuree H. Tantisira, Boonyong Tantisira

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Longan (Euphoria longana) seed is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant which has been claimed to have positive effect on deficit in learning and memory. In this study, the effects of crude ethanolic extracts of longan seed on learning and memory impairm...

Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination Of Carbidopa And Levodopa By Partial Least Squares Regression, Principal Component Regression And Least Squares Support Vector Machine Methods, Kuldeep Kaur, Ashok Kumar, Baldev Singh, M. Godarzi

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Three chemometric methods; partial least squares regression (PLS), principal component regression (PCR) and least-squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) were applied for simultaneous determination of carbidopa and levodopa in synthetic mixtures and rea...

Author Index, Keyword Index, N/A

The Thai Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

No abstract provided.

Ros-Mediated Oxidative Stress Influence Anti-Apoptotic Genes And Cyt C Release In Hyperglycemic Mouse Kidneys To Initiate Late Nephropathic Complications, Krina Shah, Mayur S. Parmar, Sidhartha D. Ray

HPD Articles

Decades of intense research has shown that hyperglycemiainduced ROS production can lead to a redox-imbalance causing oxidative stress (OS) in a variety of target organs in vivo. In the absence of an efficient antioxidant counteracting system, massive OS often leads to activation of stress-responsive signaling pathways resulting in deregulated expression of pro-survival and/or pro-death genes. Persistent deregulation of such pathways eventually masterminds late complications of diabetes. Most studies hold hyperglycemia-induced OS as the ‘cause’, and premature onset of apoptosis as the ‘effect’. This ‘cause and effect’ axis ultimately initiates the development and progression of macro and microvascular complications including diabetic …

Application Of Multiple Mass Spectrometric Techniques In The Isolation, Determination And Characterisation Of The Marine Toxins; Azaspiracid, Keith O'Callaghan

Theses

The Azaspiracids are a class of polyether marine biotoxins that present a significant health risk to consumers of shellfish. Since their discovery in the late 1990s several human intoxications have been reported, and traced to Irish shellfish farms resulting in closures or harvest rejections. As such incidents involving azaspiracid shellfish poisoning have a major socio-economic impact on communities that rely on shellfish farming revenues.

Recent evidence suggests that azaspiracid poisoning events may become more commonplace. With this increased risk the understanding of azaspiracids mode of action and biological targets becomes crucial. To support these endeavours effective analytical methods need to …

Climate Change, Cities And The Poor, John Cleveland, Peter Plastrik

Social Space

Climate change on its own is an intractable issue. What if we look at climate change through a social equity lens? John Cleveland and Peter Plastrik analyse current climate adaption strategies and deliberate a more active role by ‘people on the ground’.

Reflection Contributions To The Dispersion Artefact In Ftir Spectra Of Single Biological Cells., Paul Bassan, Hugh Byrne, Joe Lee, Franck Bonnier, Colin Clarke, Paul Dumas, Ehsan Gazi, Michael Brown, Noel Clarke, Peter Gardner

Articles

Fourier transform infrared spectra of a single cell in transflection geometry are seen to vary significantly with position on the cell, showing a distorted derivative-like lineshape in the region of the optically dense nucleus. A similar behaviour is observable in a model system of the protein albumin doped in a potassium bromide disk. It is demonstrated that the spectrum at any point is a weighted sum of the sample reflection and transmission and that the dominance of the reflection spectrum in optically dense regions can account for some of the spectral distortions previously attributed to dispersion artefacts. Rather than being …

Pesticide Policy And Farmworker Health, Joan D. Flocks

UF Law Faculty Publications

Although data on the carcinogenicity of agricultural pesticides are still being generated and are thus incomplete, research such as the Agricultural Health Study indicates that populations with increased, regular exposure to pesticides have high rates of a variety of cancers (National Institutes of Health & Environmental Protection Agency 2008). Policies that regulate toxins such as pesticides are envisioned by the public to be empirical and objective, but toxins are socially produced and their regulation is just as often based on political and economic factors as it is on science (Luke 2000). This does not bode well for farm- workers who …

Multiple Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Spp. In Environmental Settings, Stephen Shost

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ninety staphylococci carrying the mecA gene, including 17 strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), were isolated from environmental settings within New York State. Waterborne staphylococci harboring mecA were isolated from multiple sources: the Hudson River near a combined sewage overflow; urban streams; freshwater and marine beaches; a swimming pool; swimming pool decks; combined sewage; as well as wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) primary sewage influent, mixed liquor, aeration water, and final (unchlorinated) effluent. Environmental MRSA strains were isolated from beach water (n=3); swimming pool deck water (n=1); Hudson River water (n=2); combined sewage (n=3); as well as wastewater treatment plant mixed …

Biomonitoring Of Perfluorochemicals In Human Blood, Breast Milk, Saliva, And Urine, Lin Tao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) have been used as surfactants and surface protectors in a large number of consumer products. PFCs have been reported to elicit adverse health effects in laboratory animals and humans, and have been detected in foodstuffs and in human bodies. In this dissertation, analytical methods were developed for the determination of trace levels of PFCs in human blood, dried blood spot, breast milk, saliva, and urine. An assessment of human exposure to PFCs was performed by analyzing human specimens collected from the United States and several Asian countries. Blood, breast milk, and dried blood spots were found to be …

Genetic And Non-Genetic Factors That Cause Inter-Individual Variations In Cyp2a13 Gene Expression, Hong Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The overall goal of this dissertation is to investigate the mechanisms underlying the large interindividual variations in susceptibility to lung carcinogenesis. We focused on CYP2A13, a respiratory tract-specifically expressed enzyme, which is the most efficient P450 towards bioactivation of a tobacco-related carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). The expression level of CYP2A13 varies substantially among human lung samples. Our central hypothesis is that CYP2A13 expression level is affected by both genetic regulators and non-genetic factors. The specific aims are 1) to identify the mechanisms underlying the decreased allelic expression of a CYP2A13 allele (7520C>G); 2) to identify frequent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), associated …

Effect Of Increased Carbon Dioxide Levels On Urushiol Production In Toxicodendron Radicans And Toxicodendron Toxicarium, Meredith Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations

It is hypothesized that global warming is at least partially due to increased greenhouse gases, one of which is carbon dioxide. An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has been shown to stimulate higher rates of plant productivity, including the production of plant toxins like urushiol. Urushiol, a secondary plant compound produced in members of the Anacardiaceae family, causes dermatitis in sensitive individuals. An increase in urushiol production could increase the reactivity of certain individuals to plants like poison oak and poison ivy. To determine how elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide would effect urushiol production, 16 samples of poison ivy …

An Integrated Approach To The Toxicity Assessment Of Irish Marine Sediments Application Of Porewater Toxicity Identification Evaluation (Tie) To Irish Marine Sediments, Ailbhe Macken, Michelle Giltrap, Barry Foley, Evin Mcgovern, Brendan Mchugh, Maria Davoren

Articles

An integrated approach to the ecotoxicological assessment of Irish marine sediments was carried out between 2004 and 2007. Phase I Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) of sediment porewaters from two sites on the east coast of Ireland were conducted. Initial Tier I screening of three Irish sites identified the need for TIE after significant toxicity was observed with Tisbe battagliai and the Microtox® assay at two of the assayed sites (Alexandra Basin and Dunmore East). Porewaters classified as toxic were characterised using four manipulations, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) chelation, sodium thiosulphate addition, C18 Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) and Cation Exchange (CE) SPE. …

In-Vitro Biocompatibility Of Silver Nanoparticles Anchored On Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Alicia Brooks Castle

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Silver (Ag) nanoparticles were anchored on the surface of three different multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs): Ag-MWNTs (pure carbon), Ag-MWNT-COx (carbonyl and carboxyl doped), and Ag-MWNT-CNx (Nitrogen-doped). The chemical reactivity of the nanotubes was MWNTs< COx-MWNTs< CNx-MWNT. Ag-NP anchored on the MWNTs had an average size corresponding to MWNTs 6.64nm +/- 2.25nm; CNx-MWNTs, 13.24nm +/- 3.94nm, and COx-MWNT/Ag 11.75nm +/- 4.65nm. Cellular function and immune response were evaluated to determine biocompatibility of the synthesized nanomaterials (NM) on the human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). Cellular assays revealed toxicity after 24h however, full cellular recovery was observed at 48h. These results suggest Ag nanoparticles anchored on MWNTs have the ability to interact with cells without disrupting cellular function.

Effects Of Chlorpyrifos-Oxon On Prohormone Convertase Enzyme Activity, Sean William Harshman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Organophosphate (OP) compounds have been synthesized for various applications including medicine, pest control and weapons of terror. OPs irreversibly phosphorylate the active site of acetylcholinesterase, the primary target of toxicity, rendering it inactive causing a hypercholinergic state in the post synaptic cleft. However, very little is known about the effects of OPs on secondary targets of toxicity i.e. other serine hydrolases. The prohormone convertase (PC) enzymes, specifically PC1/3 and PC2, are serine hydrolases which are responsible for the processing of pro-opiomelanocortin in the anterior and intermediate lobes of the pituitary. To test the direct interaction between OPs and the PC …

Ischemic Stroke In Type Ii Diabetic Mice: Deregulation Of Sdf-1a/Cxcr4 Axis, Avik Das

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for ischemic stroke. Also diabetes is associated with poor outcome after stroke. Underlying mechanisms are however not fully understood. Alteration in the expression of the SDF-1a/CXCR4 axis, which is important for ischemic tissue repair, can be a probable cause. In this study, we have determined the expression of SDF-1a/CXCR4 in the brains of type II diabetic mice at basal and in response to ischemic stroke and have investigated a method for overexpression of SDF-1a in the brains of the diabetic mice. Adult male C57BLKS/J mice (db/db) of age 8 weeks were …

Effect Of Low-Dose Sarin Exposure On The Neurochemistry Of Different Brain Structures In Mice, Dhawal Pravin Oswal

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Sarin (GB) is a toxic organophosphate (OP) nerve agent that was released in the Gulf War and was used in terrorist attacks in Japan. People who survive such attacks exhibit various long-term effects including alterations in neuropsychological performances. It has also been hypothesized that the Gulf War Illness could be a result of low level exposure to OP's. In order to understand the effect of low dose exposure to GB on physiological and behavioral functions, we analyzed the levels of monoamines and their metabolites in different brain areas after exposure of mice to a sublethal dose of GB. Mice (male …