The Rapid Assessment Of Aggregated Wastewater Samples For Genomic Surveillance Of Sars-Cov-2 On A City-Wide Scale,
2021
University of Louisville
The Rapid Assessment Of Aggregated Wastewater Samples For Genomic Surveillance Of Sars-Cov-2 On A City-Wide Scale, Eric C. Rouchka, Julia H. Chariker, Kumar Saurabh, Sabine Waigel, Wolfgang Zacharias, Mei Zhang, Daymond Talley, Ian Santisteban, Madeline Puccio, Sarah Moyer, Rochelle H. Holm, Ray A. Yeager, Kevin J. Sokoloski, Joshua Fuqua, Aruni Bhatnagar, Ted Smith
Faculty Scholarship
Throughout the course of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic there has been a need for approaches that enable rapid monitoring of public health using an unbiased and minimally invasive means. A major way this has been accomplished is through the regular assessment of wastewater samples by qRT-PCR to detect the prevalence of viral nucleic acid with respect to time and location. Further expansion of SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring efforts to include the detection of variants of interest/concern through next-generation sequencing has enhanced the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. In this report, we detail the results of a collaborative effort between public health …
Novel Pilot Development Of A Closed-Loop Sustainable System Between Biogas Renewable Energy, Distilling, And Aquaculture By Vermiculture Of Stillage Wastes,
2021
University of Louisville
Novel Pilot Development Of A Closed-Loop Sustainable System Between Biogas Renewable Energy, Distilling, And Aquaculture By Vermiculture Of Stillage Wastes, Samuel C. Kessler
The Cardinal Edge
This study provides a mixed-methods approach in analyzing a potential closed-loop system between renewable biogas production from anaerobic digestion, vermiculture production, aquaculture production, and organic wastes with a particular focus on stillage wastes. Such system may hold significant promise for significantly reducing organic carbon and methane emissions from its components, and should be assessed for such. The 2021 IPCC report essentially identified methane reduction as the single fastest way to slow global warming (IPCC, 2021), making the study and implementation of methane-reducing systems and supportive policy for them critical. Knowledge gaps to implementing this system were qualitatively identified as disconnect …
Connecting Communities To Coastal Resilience: Enhancing Sustainability Through Public Participation In Salt Marsh Management And Restoration In Suffolk County, Ny,
2021
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Connecting Communities To Coastal Resilience: Enhancing Sustainability Through Public Participation In Salt Marsh Management And Restoration In Suffolk County, Ny, Jennifer L. Mcgivern
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Coastal resiliency is becoming significantly more critical to the livelihood of coastal communities as the frequency and intensity of storm events increases and is exacerbated by rising sea levels due to climate change. In October 2012 Superstorm Sandy impacted the New York-New Jersey area costing over $70 billion in storm damages and 147 lives lost, as storm surges surpassed record highs for the region. Protruding more than 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean with over 1,000 miles of shoreline, Long Island is particularly vulnerable to the increasingly ferocious and numerous storms as well as the rising sea levels that climate …
Standardizing Data Reporting In The Research Community To Enhance The Utility Of Open Data For Sars-Cov-2 Wastewater Surveillance,
2021
University of Notre Dame
Standardizing Data Reporting In The Research Community To Enhance The Utility Of Open Data For Sars-Cov-2 Wastewater Surveillance, Jill S. Mcclary-Gutierrez, Zachary T. Aanderud, Mitham Al-Faliti, Claire Duvallet, Raul Gonzalez, Joe Guzman, Rochelle H. Holm, Michael A. Jahne, Rose S. Kantor, Panagis Katsivelis, Katrin Gaardbo Kuhn, Laura M. Langan, Cresten Mansfeldt, Sandra L. Mclellan, Lorelay M. Mendoza Grijalva, Kevin S. Murnane, Colleen C. Naughton, Aaron I. Packman, Sotirios Paraskevopoulos, Tyler S. Radniecki, Fernando A. Roman, Abhilasha Shrestha, Lauren B. Stadler, Joshua A. Steele, Brian M. Swalla, Peter Vikesland, Brian Wartell, Carol J. Wilusz, Judith Chui Ching Wong, Alexandria B. Boehm, Rolf U. Halden, Kyle Bibby, Jeseth Delgado Vela
Faculty Scholarship
SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater is being rapidly developed and adopted as a public health monitoring tool worldwide. With wastewater surveillance programs being implemented across many different scales and by many different stakeholders, it is critical that data collected and shared are accompanied by an appropriate minimal amount of meta-information to enable meaningful interpretation and use of this new information source and intercomparison across datasets. While some databases are being developed for specific surveillance programs locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, common globally-adopted data standards have not yet been established within the research community. Establishing such standards will require national and …
Do Environmental Toxins Predict Violent Crimes?,
2021
Kennesaw State University
Do Environmental Toxins Predict Violent Crimes?, Tyler Stahl
Symposium of Student Scholars
Do chemical pollutants that persistent in the environment and bioaccumulate in the body affect human health and behavior? Could these Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic (PBT) chemicals play a role in the cause of violent crimes due to deterioration of mental and cognitive functions? In the past, Mercury, a PBT chemical, has been shown in salmon to be associated with aggression. Could similar aggression occur in humans exposed to mercury through a toxic spill? Two sources of data are utilized in this analysis. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Annual Toxic Release Inventory publishes data on toxic releases into the environment and …
Toxicology Of Chemical Stress To Monarch Butterflies (Danaus Plexippus L.),
2021
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Toxicology Of Chemical Stress To Monarch Butterflies (Danaus Plexippus L.), Annie Krueger
Dissertations and Student Research in Entomology
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) population declines have caught the attention of the country and prompted nationwide conservation initiatives. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has identified insecticide exposure and loss of milkweed (Asclepias spp.) reproductive habitat as primary threats to the monarch. In the Midwestern US, milkweed largely occurs around cropland borders where there may be a spatial and temporal overlap of monarch larvae, insecticide usage, and fertilizer applications. In this study, the acute toxicity and sub-lethal effects on growth and diet consumption of two commonly used pyrethroid insecticides, bifenthrin and beta-cyfluthrin, were characterized …
Geographic And Occupational Mobility Of Small-Scale Fishers Of Lake Malawi: An Exploratory Study Of Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene Access, Malawi,
2021
University of Louisville
Geographic And Occupational Mobility Of Small-Scale Fishers Of Lake Malawi: An Exploratory Study Of Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene Access, Malawi, Rochelle H. Holm, Tikhala Chakalamba, Bwighane Ngasama, Fanuel Kapute
Faculty Scholarship
The livelihood of small-scale fishers on the world’s freshwater lakes cuts across the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which covers water and sanitation, and SDG 8 on economic growth. The aim of this study was to examine the nature and extent of fishers’ mobility patterns and access to improved sanitation facilities, safe drinking water, and handwashing practices while at work and home for two fishing camps in Malawi. The study used key informant interviews, questionnaires, water quality testing, and an observational checklist, followed by interviews on fishers’ occupational migration. Many fishers (85%; 51/60) live and work in fishing camps with …
Investigating The Effects Of Perfluorooctanoic Sulfonate (Pfos) And Ethanol On Fatty Liver Disease Using A Modified Niaaa Model.,
2021
University of Louisville
Investigating The Effects Of Perfluorooctanoic Sulfonate (Pfos) And Ethanol On Fatty Liver Disease Using A Modified Niaaa Model., Tyler Charles Gripshover
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) are a family of man-made, surfactant-like compounds that are a major environmental contaminant. A multitude of studies have indicated that PFAS are able to induce fatty liver disease and modulate lipid metabolism. However, the distinct mechanism of PFAS influence on the liver and metabolism disruption remains to be elucidated. On the other hand, it is well documented that alcohol consumption has various adverse health impacts including fatty liver disease and subsequent progression to more adverse liver states. To date, there are no published studies on whether PFAS and alcohol can jointly exacerbate fatty liver progression or interact …
The Disproportionate Impact Of Toxins In Consumer Products,
2021
Mercyhurst University
The Disproportionate Impact Of Toxins In Consumer Products, Meredith Bollheimer, Elissa Reitz
The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal
The number of chemicals used in everyday products has grown exponentially over the last century. Many of these chemicals are known endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC’s) and they have not been proven to be safe for humans or for the environment. Rather, many of these chemicals have been linked to negative human health outcomes and damage to the environment. Corporate America is responsible for the production and liberal use of these chemicals in consumer and personal care products. The federal government has failed to provide effective or meaningful standards or regulations for the myriad chemicals of concern that make their way …
Environmental Justice Analysis Of Drinking Water Policies In Michigan Cities,
2021
Western Michigan University
Environmental Justice Analysis Of Drinking Water Policies In Michigan Cities, Annika Paldan
Honors Theses
This thesis examined environmental justice aspects of drinking water policies in four cities across Michigan: Flint, Birmingham, St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor. An overview of the history of the environmental justice movement, environmental racism, and drinking water policies provided the basis for a four-part evaluative criterion to assess environmental justice components at the municipal level. These criteria include (1) housing tenure, (2) age, size, and service line composition of the infrastructure, (3) public participation in the policy process, and (4) emergency management of the city. Findings indicate that environmental justice has come a long way, with cities now incorporating components …
Andrographolide Attenuates Gut-Brain-Axis Associated Pathology In Gulf War Illness By Modulating Bacteriome-Virome Associated Inflammation And Microglia-Neuron Proinflammatory Crosstalk,
2021
University of South Carolina
Andrographolide Attenuates Gut-Brain-Axis Associated Pathology In Gulf War Illness By Modulating Bacteriome-Virome Associated Inflammation And Microglia-Neuron Proinflammatory Crosstalk, Punnag Saha, Peter T. Skidmore, Larinda A. Holland, Ayan Mondal, Dipro Bose, Ratanesh K. Seth, Kimberly Sullivan, Patricia A. Janulewicz, Ronnie Horner, Nancy Klimas, Mitzi Nagarkatti, Prakash Nagarkatti, Efrem S. Lim, Saurabh Chatterjee
Faculty Publications
Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptomatic illness that is associated with fatigue, pain, cognitive deficits, and gastrointestinal disturbances and presents a significant challenge to treat in clinics. Our previous studies show a role of an altered Gut-Brain axis pathology in disease development and symptom persistence in GWI. The present study utilizes a mouse model of GWI to study the role of a labdane diterpenoid andrographolide (AG) to attenuate the Gut-Brain axis-linked pathology. Results showed that AG treatment in mice (100 mg/kg) via oral gavage restored bacteriome alterations, significantly increased probiotic bacteria , , and , the genera that …
Dissonant Forms: Landscape, Nature-Love, And Art,
2021
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dissonant Forms: Landscape, Nature-Love, And Art, Taylor F. Benoit
Masters Theses
As artists continue the long and storied lineage of Landscape, are there aesthetic responsibilities that come with representing the forces that afford you the capacity to do so? As we delineate spaces into places, endless interconnectivity into knowable “systems”, and living matter into thing based taxonomies, who do these delineations serve and with what intentions do we proceed? My studio art practice explores what it means to give form to our Former—the Former being that from which we came, the here and now, our explicit ecological reality, the stuff of what we call nature. …
Afterschool Sustainability Club,
2021
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Afterschool Sustainability Club, Ethan Halman Gonzalez
Honors Expanded Learning Clubs
In-depth lesson plans used at Riley Elementary to educate students about the environment around them and how to preserve it.
Uptake, Acuumulation, And Toixicity Of Silver Nanoparticles To Juvenile Bivalve Mollusc’S Hard Clam Mercenaria Mercenaria,
2021
University of South Carolina
Uptake, Acuumulation, And Toixicity Of Silver Nanoparticles To Juvenile Bivalve Mollusc’S Hard Clam Mercenaria Mercenaria, Hanaa Radhi Jolan Al Hameed
Theses and Dissertations
Nanoscience and nanotechnology have gained attention in the last 20 - 30 years. Manufactured nanoparticles (NPs), which are defined as having at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nm, are the main products of nanotechnology. Nanoscale materials often have novel properties due to their size and this has made them so attractive for a range of processes and sectors. These attractive properties have enhanced their use in a wide range of consumer products and applications including electronic, biomedical, and pharmaceutical. The overall objective of this dissertation was: 1) to investigate the transformation of well-characterized AgNPs, at environmentally relevant concentrations …
Partitioning Of Volatile Organic Compounds Into The Multiple Environmental Compartments,
2021
University of South Carolina
Partitioning Of Volatile Organic Compounds Into The Multiple Environmental Compartments, Jeonghyeon Ahn
Theses and Dissertations
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) dominate the class of pollutants that accumulate in the atmosphere and indoors. Partitioning coefficient is a measure of a compound’s ability to distribute between two phases. Assessing the partitioning of VOCs is essential to determine their transport, fate, behavior, and adverse environmental and health impacts across multiple environmental compartments. Studies on VOC partitioning have been limited because discriminating the small mass fraction of VOCs in aerosol particles is difficult to quantify. The partitioning of VOCs into soil, air, and aerosol particle phases was investigated under dynamic laboratory conditions. A bench-scale system that precisely controlled the relative …
Wastewater Sample Site Selection To Estimate Geographically Resolved Community Prevalence Of Covid-19: A Sampling Protocol Perspective,
2021
University of Louisville
Wastewater Sample Site Selection To Estimate Geographically Resolved Community Prevalence Of Covid-19: A Sampling Protocol Perspective, R. Yeager, R. H. Holm, K. Saurabh, J. L. Fuqua, D. Talley, A. Bhatnagar, T. Smith
Faculty Scholarship
Wastewater monitoring for virus infections within communities can complement conventional clinical surveillance. Currently, most SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) clinical testing is voluntary and inconsistently available, except for a few occupational and educational settings, and therefore likely underrepresents actual population prevalence. Randomized testing on a regular basis to estimate accurate population-level infection rates is prohibitively costly and is hampered by a range of limitations and barriers associated with participation in clinical research. In comparison, community-level fecal monitoring can be performed through wastewater surveillance to effectively surveil communities. However, epidemiologically defined protocols for wastewater sample site selection are lacking. …
High And Low Toxin Producing Strains Of Karenia Brevis Differ Significantly In The Redox Proteome, Lipid Profiles, And Xanthophyll Cycle Pigments,
2021
Florida International University
High And Low Toxin Producing Strains Of Karenia Brevis Differ Significantly In The Redox Proteome, Lipid Profiles, And Xanthophyll Cycle Pigments, Ricardo Colon
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, blooms annually in the Gulf of Mexico, producing a suite of neurotoxins known as the brevetoxins. The cellular toxin content of K. brevis, however, is highly variable between or even within strains. I investigated biochemical differences between high (KbHT) and low (KbLT) toxin producing cultures both derived from the Wilson strain, related to energy-dependent quenching (qE) by photosystem II, and the content of reduced thiols of the proteome. By characterizing the xanthophyll content of the two strains I was able to determine that KbLT performs qE inconsistently. To investigate the …
In Situ Arsenic Speciation Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy And The Coffee Ring Effect,
2021
Florida International University
In Situ Arsenic Speciation Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy And The Coffee Ring Effect, Valery Liamtsau
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The coffee ring effect (CRE) phenomenon is originated from the nonuniform solvent evaporation of a sessile droplet deposited onto the flat substrate. Once the evaporation starts, the droplet suspended particles move outwards by the radial flow and concentrate in the edge region of the evaporating droplet, resulting in the formation of the so-called CRE stains. In this work we have expanded the applications of the CRE from separation of particles and macromolecules to small molecules, in particular, coupled to surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Herein, we have developed a theoretical framework to describe the CRE-driven separation process of small molecules, using …
Allergy And Anaphylaxis From The Prehospital Perspective,
2021
CUNY School of Public Health
Allergy And Anaphylaxis From The Prehospital Perspective, Anthony E. Conrardy
Dissertations and Theses
Anaphylaxis is considered a severe, potentially fatal, systemic allergic reaction that occurs suddenly after contact with an allergy causing substance. It is estimated that up to 5% of the population has experienced anaphylaxis, with 1% of hospitalizations and 0.1% of emergency department patients having fatal outcomes. We characterized the population of patients encountered by the EMS agency (786 patients) that had a provider impression of “allergic reaction” and then utilized logistic regression models to estimate associations with the administration of epinephrine in the prehospital setting. Additionally, we used incident location data for all patient encounters of the EMS agency …
Sustainability And The Post-Covid Normal,
2021
Singapore Management University
Sustainability And The Post-Covid Normal, Tuck Lye Koh, Michael P. Liwanag, Hong Minh Le
Perspectives@SMU
Governance and flexibility will be key to addressing challenges climate change and the next pandemic will bring
