Environmental Health Commons^™

Using Mycelium To Bioremediate Environments Damaged By Acid Mine Drainage, Michael Lazar, Jacquelyn Maddox

Harrisburg University Research Symposium: Highlighting Research, Innovation, & Creativity

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major source of environmental contamination around areas that were once utilized by the mining industry, and does not have many pragmatic remediation solutions. Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium has been previously tested and shown to be able to biosorb a variety of heavy metals into its mycelial tissue. This project utilized P. ostreatus mycelium as a novel and natural approach to bioremediate acid mine drainage. There were two experiments: one proof-of-concept experiment and one situational experiment that used stream mesocosms. (Project II)

Describing The Impact Of The Sales Of Antibiotics On The Environment And In Population Health, Andrés Gaviria-Figueroa

Theses and Dissertations

The role of antibiotics in human health is of significant importance in the advancement of the medical field. It has contributed to an improvement of the quality of life and the age expectancy of the population. Antibiotic resistance is an expected consequence of the use of antibiotics. Bacteria have developed biological mechanisms that would help them become resistant to antibiotics. The uncontrolled use of antibiotics is significantly contributing to the ability of bacteria to become resistant to those antibiotics. This study, using the model of the Socio-Ecological Coupling of Antibiotic Resistance, explains how social and environmental factors interact and impact …

Soil Carbon Storage And Sequestration In Vermont Agriculture, Alissa C. White, Heather M. Darby, Donald Ross

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In 2021, The State of Soil Health (SOSH) project measured indicators of soil health on 221 farm fields across the state of Vermont through a collaborative effort among many organizations. Soil carbon stocks to 30 cm depth were assessed on 191 of those fields. In this brief we share a summary of this new soil carbon stock data alongside data from a national assessment of soil carbon stocks performed by the NRCS from 2010 and highlight its relevance to current policy conversations within the state of Vermont.

Key Ideas

• The protection of existing soil carbon stocks and support for increased …

Comparative Assessment Of The Fate And Toxicity Of Chemically And Biologically Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Toward Juvenile Clams, Mercenaria Mercenaria, Amar Yasser Al-Rshim

Theses and Dissertations

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) with unique nanoscale properties, including novel optical behavior and superparamagnetic, are continually being developed for biomedical and industrial applications. In specific biomedical applications, ENMs are surface-functionalized using polymers, proteins, and other stabilizing agents to facilitate their resistance to salt-induced aggregation. Since their colloidal stability in high ionic-strength matrices, functionalized ENMs are anticipated to be persistent aquatic contaminants. Despite their potential environmental significance, the persistence of surface-functionalized ENMs as individually stabilized nanoparticles in marine environments is largely unknown. Further, few studies have investigated the fundamental factors that influence ENMs uptake and fate/transport processes in ecologically susceptible aquatic biota, …

The Sublethal Response Of Cambarus Sp. To Acute Low Dose Herbicide Exposure Evidenced By A Change In Ggt Levels And Apoptosis, Amelia Wickham

Senior Honors Theses

Following application, herbicidal runoff can collect in freshwater ecosystems, briefly exposing non-target organisms. As biological indicators, crayfish serve as models to assess freshwater health. Chemically stressed crayfish form reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are neutralized by the glutathione pathway. As glutathione depletes, γ-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) upregulates to increase glutathione formation. High oxidative stress lowers glutathione levels and subsequent apoptosis occurs. For this acute study, crayfish were exposed to 5ppb and 50ppb of atrazine, glyphosate, and 2,4-D. Herbicide exposures were expected to induce higher GGT production, increased oxidative stress, and increased apoptosis. Instead, GGT and apoptosis predominately decreased relative to the control. …

Superfund And Society Benumbed: An In-Depth Look At Environmental Justice In South Carolina, Sydney A. Hampton

Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between superfund sites in minority communities and their public health through the lens of social vulnerability. Various demographic parameters were used to assess the risk associated with minority communities and exposure to hazardous waste. After investigating the history of the Environmental Justice movement, three superfund sites of interest in South Carolina, and demographic and public health data; each community was analyzed to determine association between exposure to hazardous waste and minority status. Each examined community exhibited characteristics contributing to heightened social vulnerability, potentially causing increased susceptibility to negative health outcomes from exposure to hazardous waste.

Oxybenzone And The Mammary Gland: Impact Of An Environmental Pollutant On Health, Disease & Ethical Decision-Making, Klara Matouskova

Doctoral Dissertations

The environmental pollutant and common sunscreen compound oxybenzone is a benzophenone type UV light chemical filter used in industrial and consumer goods. This chemical widely contaminates human tissues, non-human species, and environmental matrices. In this dissertation, oxybenzone is investigated for its effects on the mouse mammary gland in the offspring following perinatal exposure; after perinatal and prepubertal exposures as a dual environmental insult during two sensitive times of development; and in adults after exposure during pregnancy & lactation as an environmental factor potentially increasing the tissue susceptibility to mammary tumors. Chapter 1 introduces the mammary gland. Chapter 2 reviews UV …

Behavioral And Physiological Effects Of Heavy Metals On Fish: A Review And Preliminary Results, Diana V. Morales

Theses and Dissertations

Pollution, specifically heavy metal pollution, in various bodies of water has been a significant issue for decades. Research has been conducted on heavy metals and their effects on the environment, larger fish species, and humans since the 1970s (Skidmore, 1964; Adeniyi et al., 2007; Adeosun et al., 2015; Bawuro et al., 2018). It is known that zinc is a neurotoxin in some species and causes harm to the environment. It is also known that it causes harm to people if it is ingested or if they are exposed to it for long periods of time (Mahurpawar, 2015; Mizuno and Kawahara, …

The Unexpected Influence On Talent From Air Pollution, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

CUHK research shows air pollution in China is driving educated and skilled company executives to move away from highly polluted areas, hampering the performance of firms located there

Rising Recess Temperatures: Quantifying The Cooling Effect Of School Parks, Nicholas Kendall, Xuhui Lee

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Many schools in the US are currently placed in urban heat islands. Children attending these schools are thought to be at greater risk to heat stress related health concerns. We used mobile heat sensors to see if there was a quantifiable difference between the playgrounds and parks within and between two schools with differing park sizes.

Implementation Of A Drive-Through Covid-19 Mass Vaccination Site: Experiences From Louvax–Broadbent In Louisville, Kentucky, Ruth Carrico, Sarah Beth Hartlage, Valenchia Brown Msn, Aprn, Fnp-C, Sarah M. Bishop, Luanne Didelot, William Hayden, Beverly Williams Coleman, Sarah Tan, Delanor Manson, Kellie Kane, Dawn Balcom, Paul Kern

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: Response to the COVID-19 pandemic has required innovative approaches to vaccination, including methods to rapidly and safely immunize communities. A major challenge to such a response involved access to untapped healthcare worker resources. The Louisville, Kentucky, response involved the use of a large volunteer workforce to supplement local public health employees in planning and implementing a large-scale drive-through vaccination event. The objective of this manuscript was to outline processes involved in training a mass immunization workforce and implementating a large-scale COVID-19 community vaccination.

Approach: Competency-based and standardized training was provided for every volunteer before working their shift. Volunteers worked …

Fate And Effect Of Food-Grade Titanium Dioxide Particles/Polystyrene Nanoplastics On Nutrients Bioaccessibility Of Food In The Simulated Human Gastrointestinal Tract, Chunyang Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Food grade titanium dioxide particles (E171), as whitening agent, are commonly used in chewing gums, candies, sauces, salad dressings, and powdered milk. Recently, nanoplastics (NPs) (defined as < 1 µm), which are degraded from plastic debris undergoing environmental process, have received global attention. Because nanoplastics are ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial systems, and have been detected in marine animals, table salts, drinking water, and air. Thus, the presence of E171 as additives in the food, and the nanoplastics in food chains, both pose potential risks to human health through retarded processes in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). However, the knowledge about the fate of E171 or nanoplastics and their impact on digestive enzymes activity or nutrient bioaccessiblity are currently limited. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate potential impacts of E171 or nanoplastics on digestion processes and nutrient bioaccessibility in the simulated human gastrointestinal tract, which includes mouth, stomach and intestinal phases, to mimic the digestion processes of food incubating with E171 or polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics. The objectives of my dissertation and major findings are presented below: 1) The impacts of E171 on lipid digestion and vitamin D₃ (VD₃) bioaccessibility encapsulated within oil-in-water emulsions in a simulated human gastrointestinal tract model were explored; 2) The impacts of E171 on the bioaccessibility of minerals (Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, P and S) released from spinach leaves using a simulated human digestion tract were investigated; 3) The impacts of various concentrations or different functional group (-COOH, -NH₂) of PS NPs on the starch hydrolysis in the simulated …

The Environment Under The Knife: A Review Of Current Eco-Surgical Strategies And Recommendations For Pakistan, Russell Seth Martins, Edward Anthony Joseph, Javeria Tariq, Namrah Aziz, Saulat H. Fatimi

Medical College Documents

The healthcare sector at its core is based on the fundamentals belief to do no harm and bring about betterment in the lives of the people. Paradoxically, hospitals are one of the leading contributors to pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and toxic waste material worldwide. Surgical care delivery is quite resource intensive, consuming significant amount of energy and equipment as well as producing large quantities of waste. With climate change being a global priority, it is crucial that hospitals re-evaluate the environmental impact of such practices. The current review was planned to identify areas of improvement in surgical care in …

Surveillance Of Rnase P, Pmmov, And Crassphage In Wastewater As Indicators Of Human Fecal Concentration Across Urban Sewer Neighborhoods, Louisville, Kentucky, R. H. Holm, M. Nagarkar, R. A. Yeager, D. Talley, A. C. Chaney, J. P. Rai, A. Mukherjee, S. N. Rai, A. Bhatnagar, T. Smith

Faculty Scholarship

Wastewater surveillance has been widely used as a supplemental method to track the community infection levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. A gap exists in standardized reporting for fecal indicator concentrations, which can be used to calibrate the primary outcome concentrations from wastewater monitoring for use in epidemiological models. To address this, measurements of fecal indicator concentration among wastewater samples collected from sewers and treatment centers in four counties of Kentucky (N = 650) were examined. Results from the untransformed wastewater data over 4 months of sampling indicated that the fecal indicator concentration of human ribonuclease P (RNase …

Effects Of Foliar Application Of Zno Nanoparticles On Lentil Production, Stress Level And Nutritional Seed Quality Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Urík, Martin Šebesta, Ľuba Ďurišová, Marek Bujdoš, Ivan Černý, Juraj Chlpík, Martin Juriga, Ramakanth Illa, Yu Qian, Huan Feng, Gabriela Kratošová, Karla Čech Barabaszová, Ladislav Ducsay, Elena Aydın

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Nanotechnology offers new opportunities for the development of novel materials and strategies that improve technology and industry. This applies especially to agriculture, and our previous field studies have indicated that zinc oxide nanoparticles provide promising nano-fertilizer dispersion in sustainable agriculture. However, little is known about the precise ZnO-NP effects on legumes. Herein, 1 mg·L⁻¹ ZnO-NP spray was dispersed on lentil plants to establish the direct NP effects on lentil production, seed nutritional quality, and stress response under field conditions. Although ZnO-NP exposure positively affected yield, thousand-seed weight and the number of pods per plant, there was no statistically significant …

Banned But Still Toxic: Gail Carlson Serves Notice That Chemical In Ski Racers' Waxes Still Lurk At The Starting Line, Bill Donahue

Colby Magazine

We live in a chemical world, exposing ourselves all day long to scary toxins created in laboratories—to the traces of herbicide that lurk in our water, to the carcinogenic Teflon coating our cookware, and to the pesticides sprayed on our vegetables.

The Effect Of A Vegetation Buffer On Sound Levels, Madison Cicha

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Noise pollution is a growing concern in the environmental health community. Unlike other common exposures, such as air and water pollution, noise is uniquely difficult for an individual to protect themselves from. Studies have shown multiple adverse health outcomes resulting from exposure to noise pollution, including hearing impairment, negative social behavior and annoyance, sleep disturbance, along with a strong association between noise pollution and high cardiovascular risk. It is important, then, to look for solutions to this exposure. This study is designed to assess the effects of a tree barrier in reducing traffic noise. Noise monitoring was conducted at Saint …

Wastewater-Based Estimation Of Substances Discharged At The Rest Areas Along The State Highways In Kentucky, Katherine E. Gray, Eugene Shin, Tyler Whitt, Andrew Windhorst, Houston Hampton, Chris Delcher, Bikram Subedi

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The availability of licit and illicit stimulants and its adverse consequences on public health has emerged as a major drug threat to communities in the United States. Despite several drug-involved traffic incidents along the interstate highways, this report represents the first comprehensive and quantitative report of drugs discharged at the rest areas along the interstate highways. In this National Institute of Justice-funded study, the amount of several discharged drugs focusing on stimulants but also including opioids and prescription antipsychotics are being measured in raw wastewater collected from five rest areas and a truck servicing facility using a state-of-the-art mass …

Ammonia Cycling And Emerging Particulate Matter Pollutants Under Arable Land-Use Management: A Modelling Approach, Vivien Pohl

Doctoral

Air quality monitoring in Ireland is under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency in compliance with the Gothenburg Protocol, EU/national legislation, and the National Clean Air Strategy. Particulate Matter (PM) has been acknowledged as a key atmospheric pollutant, with serious public health impacts and no safe threshold of exposure in place to-date. Ammonia (NH3) emissions are linked to the secondary production of PM through atmospheric reactions occurring with acidic atmospheric components such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid. These reactions result in the formation of ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride, among others. More than 95% …

Wanderscaping: Stirring Agitated Reflections Into Our Home The Campus, K. Annie Bingham

Selected Undergraduate Works

Wanderscaping is a two part project completed over the 2021-2022 school year. The first portion, "Wanderscaping Our Home The Campus" meanders through the physical space of Sarah Lawrence College, as a landscape and an institution, while the second, "Stirring An Agitated Reflection" floats that knowledge in the psychic space of an interconnected host of guides, through books, conversations, and other media. As a whole this project is a process-oriented wrangling of freedom, connection, and their borders. It has culminated in practices of public participatory performance, photography, mapping, iconography, audio recording, and writing. Wanderscaping aims to share a space to dream …