Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Message Matters: Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Increase Household Hazardous Waste Program Participation, Amy Dyer Cabaniss

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Removing household hazardous waste (HHW) from the municipal solid waste stream is important to protect health, safety and the environment. Communities across the U.S. separate HHW from regular trash for disposal with hazardous waste, however nationally, participation rates are low with only five to ten percent of households estimated to participate in any given collection. This two-part study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to understand individuals’ beliefs and attitudes toward HHW collections, and to develop a print message intervention to increase participation. In Study 1, respondents (N = 983) completed a survey administered to homeowners in the Connecticut …

Novel Compounds As Potential Alzheimer's Disease Therapeutics And Inhibitors Of The Nlrp3 Inflammasome, Jeremy E. Chojnacki

Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of dementia. The disease manifests via several pathologies including neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, metal ion dyshomeostasis, and cell death. To address the multifaceted nature of this disorder, the design of several diverse compounds, targeting many pathological effects, was generated. First, a series of compounds based on curcumin and diosgenin were synthesized following the bivalent design strategy. Two compounds were discovered to have neuroprotective ability, anti-oxidative function, and anti-Aß oligomerization (AßO) properties. A second set of molecules was also designed, wherein a hybrid compound strategy was utilized. Three hybrids were to …

The Association Of Cold Weather And All-Cause And Cause-Specific Mortality In The Island Of Ireland Between 1984 And 2007, Ariana Zeka, Stephen Browne, Helen Mcavoy, Patrick Goodman

Articles

Background: This study aimed to assess the relationship between cold temperature and daily mortality in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI), and to explore any differences in the population responses between the two jurisdictions. Methods: A time-stratified case-crossover approach was used to examine this relationship in two adult national populations, between 1984 and 2007. Daily mortality risk was examined in association with exposure to daily maximum temperatures on the same day and up to 6 weeks preceding death, during the winter (December-February) and an extended cold period (October-March), using distributed lag models. Model stratification by age and …

Isolation And Characterization Of Natural Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitors From Antioxidant Rich Red Wine Grapes (Vitis Vinifera), Hoda Chaouki Kadouh

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: Diabetes is currently a global public health problem affecting people at all ages. Dietary antioxidants have been associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. Grape pomace contains considerable amounts of polyphenols and it has been reported to exhibit an inhibitory activity against alpha- glucosidases. Alpha-glucosidases, in turn, play a major role in controlling starch digestion and therefore postprandial blood glucose, a target for diabetes management.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the anti-diabetes potential of a selection of six grape pomaces and prepare and purify active components in the active variety that specifically inhibit intestinal alpha-glucosidases. The …

Valorisation Of The Cider And Brewing Industry By-Products As Nutraceutical Ingredients, Sofia Reis

Doctoral

By-products from the cider and brewing industries, including apple pomace (AP) and brewer’s spent grain (BSG) respectively, constitute major environmental problems due to the large quantities produced every year. They are sources of valuable compounds such as protein, fibre, essential fatty acids, phenolic compounds and minerals, some of them with antioxidant and prebiotic properties. Their high nutritional value leads to their potential use as human food products and several applications have been considered recently. The aims of this work include i) the nutritional and compositional characterisation of AP, BSG and final extruded and baked prototypes containing these by-products and ii) …

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

Parent-Metabolite Pharmacokinetic Models For Tramadol – Tests Of Assumptions And Predictions, Sam Holford, Karel Allegaert, Brian J. Anderson, Butch Kukanich, Altamir B. Sousa, Amir Steinman, Bruno Pypendop, Reza Mehvar, Mario Giorgi, Nick Holford

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Allometric principles were used to discern cross-species differences in (±)-tramadol disposition and formation of its primary analgesic metabolite, (±)-O-desmethyl-tramadol (M1). Species differences in formation of M1 may help predict the analgesic effectiveness of tramadol. Tramadol was administered intravenously by a zero-order (constant infusion) process or rapid bolus dose and racemic concentrations of tramadol and M1 measured. Data were pooled to define differences between species (human, rat, cat, dog, goat, donkey and horse). A two-compartment linear disposition model with first-order elimination was used to describe tramadol and M1 disposition. Slow metabolizers were detected in 6% of the population and tramadol clearance …

Epigenetic Changes After Prenatal Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure And Asthma, Sonja Christensen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Allergic asthma affects over 300 million people worldwide. Multiple factors have been shown to alter an individuals' susceptibility to this allergic airway disease such as exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), endotoxin, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Prenatal exposure to these contaminants, especially ETS, has been shown to increase risk for an individuals’ asthma risk, however, the mechanism by which this happens is still unknown. Epigenetic alterations, particularly DNA methylation patterns, have been introduced as a proposed mechanism. The goals of this project were to use a house dust mite (HDM) murine model of asthma to determine the methylation alterations …

An Environmental Toxic Model Of Parkinson's Disease: The Fruit Fly, Jennene Lyda

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder with no known specific cause; although genetic risk factors and/or environmental exposure are thought to be involved. The etiology of PD is currently unknown, although the combination of non-genetic components such as environmental exposures, the accumulation of exposure, and gene-environment interactions are thought to play a major role. However, despite this knowledge it is important to develop better models that parallel PD pathophysiology to further understand the mechanisms underlying dopaminergic neuron (DaN) damage. The use of mammalian models to study the degenerative processes in PD has been the most common …

The Establishment Of A Fibroblastic Cell Line From Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) And Its Potential Applications In Toxicology, Katelin W. Spiteri

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis describes the establishment, characterization and potential toxicological applications of YPF5, a yellow perch cell line. YPF5 is a fibroblastic cell line derived from the caudal fin of yellow perch. This cell line has been maintained for over 2 years. Cultures have been passaged over 60 times, and successfully cryopreserved and thawed. YPF5 is grown at room temperature in Leibovitz-15 (L-15) media, supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 3% penicillin-streptomycin. The origin of YPF5 has been confirmed as Perca flavescens through “DNA Barcoding” and reaffirmed through Karyotyping (2n = 48) as per literature reported karyology for percidae including …

Effects Of Salinity And Dissolved Organic Matter On Cu Toxicity To Americamysis Bahia In Estuarine Environments, Rabia Nasir

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As salinity increases the geochemical speciation of Cu is altered as a result of organic/inorganic complexation/competition. Such salinity changes may further challenge the osmoregulatory capabilities of euryhaline organisms. This chemical-biological interaction complicates the understanding of the impacts of Cu in estuarine waters. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) has been widely established to be an important modifier of Cu toxicity in freshwaters however its effectiveness in modulating Cu toxicity across the range of salinities that occur in estuarine conditions has not been studied in a systematic manner. Site to site differences in DOM quality with respect to the potential for toxicity mitigation …

Sensitization Of Human Cancer Cells To Gemcitabine By The Chk1 Inhibitor Mk-8776: Cell Cycle Perturbation And Impact Of Administration Schedule In Vitro And In Vivo, Ryan Montano, Ruth Thompson, Injae Chung, Huagang Hou, Nadeem Khan, Alan Eastman

Dartmouth Scholarship

Chk1 inhibitors have emerged as promising anticancer therapeutic agents particularly when combined with antimetabolites such as gemcitabine, cytarabine or hydroxyurea. Here, we address the importance of appropriate drug scheduling when gemcitabine is combined with the Chk1 inhibitor MK-8776, and the mechanisms involved in the schedule dependence.

Purifying The Human Rna-Lariat Debranching Enzyme, Ammar Saigal

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

This project is my first official research endeavor and it involved becoming acquainted with a large variety of biochemistry and molecular biology techniques. The goal is to elucidate the structure of a protein common to most if not all cells of organisms within the Domain Eukarya, which is one of the three taxonomic domains into which all life is categorized. This is the domain most relevant to human beings as it includes plants, fungi, and animals (from a strictly biologically-taxonomic perspective, the species Homo sapiens to which you and I belong is considered belonging to the Kingdom Animalia [Animal]).

Studies On Two Polyherbal Formulations (Zpto And Zto) For Comparison Of Their Antidyslipidemic, Antihypertensive And Endothelial Modulating Activities, Nauman Aziz, Malik Hassan Mehmood, Anwarul Hassan Gilani

Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences

Background

Cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) are the leading cause of disease burden worldwide. Apart from available synthetic drugs used in CVDs, there are many herbal formulations including POL-10 (containing 10 herbs), which have been shown to be effective in animal studies but POL-10 was found to cause tachycardia in rodents as its side effect. This study was designed to modify the composition of POL-10 for better efficacy and/or safety profile in CVDs.

Methods

To assess the antidyslipidemic, antihypertensive and endothelial modulatory properties of two herbal formulations, (ZPTO and ZTO) containing Z: Zingiber officinalis, P: Piper nigrum, T: Terminalia belerica and …

Repeated Asenapine Treatment Produces A Sensitization Effect In Two Preclinical Tests Of Antipsychotic Activity, Rongyin Qin, Yingzhu Chen, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Among several commonly used atypical antipsychotic drugs, olanzapine and risperidone cause a sensitization effect in the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) and phencyclidine (PCP)- induced hyperlocomotion paradigms – two well established animal tests of antipsychotic drugs, whereas clozapine causes a tolerance effect. Asenapine is a novel antipsychotic drug recently approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic disorders. It shares several receptor binding sites and behavioral features with other atypical antipsychotic drugs. However, it is not clear what type of repeated effect (sensitization or tolerance) asenapine would induce, and whether such an effect is transferrable to other atypicals. In this study, …

The Imperative Of Conserving California's Foothill Oak Woodlands, Lauren Phillips

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Theophylline And 8-Cyclopentyltheophylline On The Heart Rates Of Neonatal Rats, Stephanie Arnold

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Neonatal apnea is a serious condition that affects the health of infants, especially those born prematurely. To stimulate breathing, methylxanthine drugs, such as theophylline and caffeine, are administered to reverse this condition in humans and avoid the use of breathing-assistance equipment. These drugs cause stimulation of the central nervous system and the heart, however, both detrimental side effects in preterm infants. Antagonism of adenosine receptors is the proposed mechanism of methylxanthine action. Synthetic chemists have produced xanthine analogs with increased affinity for adenosine receptors that could lead to respiratory stimulation while reducing cardiostimulant effects. For this study, theophylline and 8-cyclopentyltheophylline …

Toxic And Repellent Effects Of Pyrethroids Used In Orchards On The Honey Bee, Apis Mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Erin M. Ingram

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Managed honey bee colonies provide valuable pollination services and are rented by fruit orchards to improve fruit quality and yield. The placement of colonies in this agricultural setting increases the possibility of exposure to pyrethroids used for broad-spectrum pest control in orchards. Although highly toxic to bees, pyrethroids are believed to pose a relatively low hazard due to their low application rates in the field as well as their contact repellent properties. Previous studies have noted a decrease in foraging visits following pyrethroid application possibly preventing bees from acquiring a lethal dose in the field.

This research quantified behaviors associated …

Investigating Apoptosis Pathway In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Stromal Influence And Therapeutic Activation, Viralkumar M. Patel

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a B-cell malignancy. High levels of Bcl-2 and IAP family proteins are responsible for apoptotic-resistance and accumulation of mature CLL lymphocytes in bone-marrow, lymph nodes and peripheral blood. Besides pro-survival proteins, supporting stromal cells as well as soluble factors in the microenvironment of bone-marrow and lymph nodes provide survival advantage to CLL leukemic cells.

Though the stromal – leukemia cell interactions has been studied extensively, in-depth-knowledge on the regulation of apoptotic pathway proteins in the context of microenvironment is still limited. To address this, the first part of our study focused on comprehensive analysis of …

The Eps Matrix As An Adaptive Bastion For Biofilms: Introduction To Special Issue, Alan W. Decho

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.