Environmental Health Commons^™

Modeling Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Net Return Implications For Cow-Calf Producers In The Ozark Highlands, Stephen Aaron Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cow-calf producers in the Ozark Highlands region are under continuous pressure to improve economic efficiency. Additionally, estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cow-calf and forage production processes may become increasingly important as policy makers seek to mitigate or reduce agriculture's role in climate change. As such, this analysis had three objectives. Objective 1: Provide a model that could be used by cow-calf producers, extension agents, and researchers to evaluate GHG and net return (NR) repercussions when modifying site characteristics, production methods, and inputs. Objective 2: Develop a user guide such that the methodology for estimating cow-calf GHG emissions and NR …

A Need For Green: An Approach For Motivating Environmentally Sustainable Practices At The University Of Rhode Island, Alyssa Mason, Mary Vidal

Senior Honors Projects

“Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Meade

Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man details his yearlong experiment to live without creating any environmental impact. As sophomores we were inspired by Beavan’s journey but also skeptical of living a completely no-impact lifestyle as college-students. Although we were motivated to try to live sustainably, our efforts were dormant until our junior year. That year we decided that we would attempt to live up to the standards set forth by Beavan--understanding that some practices would be harder …

Agricultural Development In The Northern Savannah Of Ghana, Tara N. Wood

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Since declaring independence in 1957, the Republic of Ghana has become a stable constitutional democracy. Ghana’s economy has grown substantially over the past decade, yet remains primarily agrarian, accounting for 50% of the total employment and 25% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Smallholder rain-fed farming using rudimentary technologies dominates the agricultural sector accounting for 80% of total agricultural production. Approximately 90% of smallholder farms are less than two hectares in size, and produce a diversity of crops. The major crops cultivated in Ghana include numerous cereal, root and tuber, leguminous, fruit, vegetable and industrial crops. Maize is the most …

Evaluation Of Colloidal Stability And Ecotoxicity Of Metal-Based Nanoparticles In The Aquatic And Terrestrial Systems, Lok R. Pokhrel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intrinsic to the many nano-enabled products are atomic-size multifunctional engineered nanomaterials, which upon release contaminate the environments, raising considerable health and safety concerns. This Ph.D. dissertation is designed to investigate (i) whether metals or oxide nanoparticles are more toxic than ions, and if MetPLATE^TM bioassay is applicable as a rapid nanotoxicity screening tool; (ii) how variable water chemistry (dissolved organic carbon (DOC), pH, and hardness) and organic compounds (cysteine, humic acid, and trolox) modulate colloidal stability, ion release, and aquatic toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP); and (iii) the developmental responses of crop plants exposed to Ag- or ZnO- (zinc …

Accessible Medical Equipment For Patients With Disabilities In Primary Care Clinics: Why Is It Lacking?, Jennifer Renee Pharr

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Background: Previous research has identified inaccessible medical equipment as a barrier to health care services encountered by people with disabilities. However, no research has been conducted to understand why medical practices lack accessible equipment.

Objectives/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to examine practice administrators’ knowledge of accessible medical equipment and cost of accessible medical equipment to understand why medical practices lack such equipment. Hypotheses were: 1) Practice administrators lacked knowledge about accessible medical equipment and 2) The cost of accessible medical equipment was too great compared to standard equipment for the clinic.

Methods: This study was a mixed methods …

Partners In Spread Prevention, Nancy C. Balcom

Wrack Lines

Working together to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Cultivating Resistance: Food Justice In The Criminal Justice System, Caitlin M. Watkins

Pitzer Senior Theses

This Senior Thesis in Environmental Analysis seeks to explore the ways in which certain food-oriented programs for incarcerated women and women on parole critically resist the Prison Industrial Complex and the Industrial Food System by securing social and ecological equity through the acquisition of food justice. It focuses on three case studies: the Crossroads’ Meatless Mondays program, Fallen Fruit from Rising Women: A Crossroads Social Enterprise, and Cultivating Dreams Prison Garden Project: An Organic Garden for Women in Prison. Each project utilizes food as a tool to build community, provide valuable skill sets of cooking and gardening, and educate women …

Atrazine And Nitrate In Public Drinking Water Supplies And Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma In Nebraska, Usa, Martha G. Rhoades, Jane L. Meza, Cheryl L. Beseler, Patrick J. Shea, Andy Kahle, Julie M. Vose, Kent M. Eskridge, Roy F. Spalding

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A secondary analysis of 1999–2002 Nebraska case-control data was conducted to assess the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) associated with exposure to nitrate- and atrazine-contaminated drinking water. Water chemistry data were collected and weighted by well contribution and proximity of residence to water supply, followed by logistic regression to determine odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We found no association between NHL risk and exposure to drinking water containing atrazine or nitrate alone. Risk associated with the interaction of nitrate and atrazine in drinking water was elevated (OR, 2.5; CI, 1.0–6.2). Risk of indolent B-cell lymphoma was higher …

El Uso De Helmintos Parásitos Como Bioindicadores En La Evaluación De La Calidad Del Agua: Lago De Tecocomulco Vs. Laguna De Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México, Scott Monks, Griselda Pulido-Flores, Christian E. Bautista-Hernández, Berenice Alemán-García, Jorge Falcón-Ordaz, Juan Carlos Gaytán-Oyarzún

Estudios científicos en el estado de Hidalgo y zonas aledañas

Como parte integral de la evaluación de la calidad ambiental del estado de Hidalgo, este estudio tiene énfasis en los helmintos parásitos de los peces y su uso como bioindicadores de la calidad de agua en Lago de Tecocomulco y Laguna de Metztitlán. Como parte del estudio, se obtuvieron los parámetros ecológicos de la infección para cada especie. En Lago Tecocomulco se registraron dos especies de digéneos (larvas), Posthodiplostomum sp. y Diplostomum sp. en el cerebro, los ojos y el mesenterio de dos especies de peces nativos de la zona (Chirostoma jordani y Girardinicthys viviparus); un céstodo (larva), …

Combined Effects Of Rearing Environment And Lead (Pb2+) Exposure On Visuospatial Learning And Memory In Rats, Nicholas Tolman

Behavioral Neuroscience Honors Papers

Critical periods of neural development occur during early postnatal life that correspond with increases in synaptic plasticity and the formation of neural circuits needed for learning and memory. This development can be profoundly influenced by experience and negatively affected by environmental toxins. Environmental enrichment and lead exposure inversely affect mediators of synaptic plasticity, which suggests that enrichment may have an attenuating effect on lead induced cognitive deficits. A wealth of evidence has indicated that exposure to excessive amounts of inorganic Pb2+ during early development can produce long lasting cognitive deficits in humans. Evidence also suggests that children raised in an …

Intronic Non-Cg Dna Hydroxymethylation And Alternative Mrna Splicing In Honey Bees, Pablo Cingolani, Xiaoyi Cao, Radhika S. Khetani, Chieh-Chun Chen, Melissa Coon, Alya'a Sammak, Aliccia Bollig-Fischer, Susan Land, Yun Huang, Matthew E. Hudson, Mark D. Garfinkel, Sheng Zhong, Gene E. Robinson, Douglas M. Ruden

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Previous whole-genome shotgun bisulfite sequencing experiments showed that DNA cytosine methylation in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) is almost exclusively at CG dinucleotides in exons. However, the most commonly used method, bisulfite sequencing, cannot distinguish 5-methylcytosine from 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, an oxidized form of 5-methylcytosine that is catalyzed by the TET family of dioxygenases. Furthermore, some analysis software programs under-represent non-CG DNA methylation and hydryoxymethylation for a variety of reasons. Therefore, we used an unbiased analysis of bisulfite sequencing data combined with molecular and bioinformatics approaches to distinguish 5-methylcytosine from 5-hydroxymethylcytosine. By doing this, we have performed the first whole …

Exposure To Persistent Organic Pollutants And Metabolic Diseases, Zafar Zayirovich Aminov

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Background: The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of diseases that tend to occur together, including diabetes, hypertension, central obesity, cardiovascular disease and hyperlipidemia. Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been associated with increased risk of development of several of the components of the MetS.

Development And Assessment Of Analytical Methods For Monitoring Current And Historical Exposures To Manganese : Blood, Urine, And Teeth, Meredith Lyn Praamsma

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Manganese, as an essential trace element, is a cofactor in numerous enzymes that aid in bone growth, cholesterol synthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism. Manganese can become toxic with overexposure, potentially leading to neurodegenerative effects and the disease manganism. Manganese concentrations in blood and urine have been widely used in monitoring current exposure and now there is interest in using manganese concentrations in teeth for monitoring historical exposure, especially in utero and in early childhood.

Impact Of Black Carbon On Global Climate : A Half-Century Of Arctic Black Carbon -- Trends And Sources, Anthony Michael Dejulio

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Assessment Of Human Exposure To Perchlorate And Perfluoroalkyl Substances In The United States : Biomonitoring And Environmental Monitoring Approaches, Qian Wu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Perchlorate is an oxidant in solid fuels and explosives and is produced in large quantities worldwide. Perchlorate is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant and is present in water, food, indoor environment and humans. Human exposure to perchlorate is a concern due to its ability to disrupt the thyroid gland functions.

Estimating The Effects Of Urbanization On Carbon Emissions: Evidence In The Philippines, Jerome Abesamis, Jumel Carlo Campos, Cecille Castelle

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Urbanization, or the social and economic modernization of metropolitan cities (Poumanyvong & Kaveko, 2010), has obtained unprecedented growth. As an inevitable phase of globalization, it has fuelled society’s consumption patterns, alongside incessant technological development. Mass production and industrialization, the primary thrusts of the global market, require consumption of non-renewable resources arising from the increase in energy usage. These centers of production are concentrated in urban, highly populated areas. This phase of progress, however, comes at the expense of environmental quality. Levels of carbon emissions are concentrated in areas with high population density. This hampers the natural flow of the ecosystem …

The Biology And Taxonomy Of Head And Body Lice— Implications For Louse-Borne Disease Prevention, Denise L. Bonilla, Lance A. Durden, Marina E. Eremeeva, Gregory A. Dasch

Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura) are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites of placental mammals including humans. Worldwide, more than 550 species have been described and many are specific to a particular host species of mammal [1]. Three taxa uniquely parasitize humans: the head louse, body louse, and crab (pubic) louse. The body louse, in particular, has epidemiological importance because it is a vector of the causative agents of three important human diseases: epidemic typhus, trench fever, and louse-borne relapsing fever. Since the advent of antibiotics and more effective body louse control measures in the 1940s, these diseases have markedly diminished in incidence. However, …

Estimation Of Aerosolized Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Concentrations From Wastewater Treatment Facilities Using Spatially-Based Dispersion Modeling, Renee Nichole Dickman

Theses and Dissertations

Pathogenic bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics to which they were previously sensitive, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]. The increase in drug resistance in bacteria is an emerging public health concern. The activated sludge tanks of wastewater treatment plants are known sources of antibiotic resistant bacteria. These resistant bacteria can become aerosolized and disperse downwind. Using previously sampled aerosol concentrations and meteorological data, a Gaussian dispersion model was developed to estimate the concentration downwind from a selected wastewater treatment facility. The emission rate was calculated to be 7,941 CFU/m²/sec ± 2,149 CFU/m²/sec. This value was used in …

Predicting Barriers To Primary Care For Patients With Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study Of Practice Administrators, Jennifer Renee Pharr, Michelle Chino

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Background. People with disabilities continue to be identified as a group who experience disparate health/health care. They are less likely to engage in some health care services. Structural barriers are often identified as one of the reasons for the underutilization of some health care services by people with disabilities. However, to date no study has been conducted to understand why structural barriers persist twenty years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law.

Objectives. We examined the relationship between primary care practice administrators’ knowledge of the ADA and the number of accessibility barriers that patients with mobility disabilities might …

Does Ecosystem Disturbance Alter The Capacity Of Dissolved Organic Matter To Mitigate The Impact Of Copper To Hyalella Azteca?, Kelly Livingstone

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The potential for aquatic ecosystem recovery as a result of dissolved organic matter (DOM) protecting against metal toxicity has become a significant area of research in environmental toxicology. It is a well-characterized relationship that DOM binds free metal ions in a concentration-dependant manner, making them unavailable for toxic action and a reduction in toxicity is seen. Less understood is source variability and how the upland terrestrial environment influences the protective quality of DOM. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of land disturbance (logging, fire, smelter emissions) on DOM quality by comparing the protective capacity of different …