Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Intraoral Appliance Therapy - A Better Alternative For Apnea Than Cpap?, Bryan Teigman

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition where there is a physiologic hindrance of airflow to the lungs, triggering the brain to interfere with the sleep cycle and awaken an individual to provide sufficient oxygen flow. For years, the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine has been the gold standard of care for patients suffering from OSA. Nonetheless, the machine has its flaws of being bulky, noisy, and other side effects, causing a low adherence rate and thus a lower relief rate of OSA symptoms. Accordingly, there have been many researchers seeking a more effective way to treat OSA, such …

Is Intermittent Fasting A Better Option Than Continuous Calorie Restriction?, Joseph J Cynamon

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Intermittent fasting has become an increasingly popular diet for weight loss in the United States in the past ten years. Proponents of intermittent fasting claim that restricting calories via a fasting period yields more significant weight loss and better improvements in biomarkers for longevity than restricting calories continuously. The goal of this paper is to determine whether intermittent fasting leads to weight loss and is more beneficial than continuous calorie restriction. The paper first details the physiological processes which can occur during fasting that are theorized to render fasting advantageous. It then reviews the limited available research that experimentally compares …

How Can We Eliminate Peanut Allergies?, Ari Weingarten

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

For a long time, people with peanut allergies have had to carefully read labels, carry around emergency epinephrine injections, and live in fear of accidentally consuming an otherwise benign food that could potentially kill them. Thankfully, researchers have been working on ways to alleviate the harmful effects of these allergies and perhaps even find a cure. In the Learning Early About Peanut allergy (LEAP) study performed in 2015, researchers examined whether the early introduction of peanut consumption could be used to prevent peanut allergies. According to the study, peanuts can be introduced orally to high-risk infants who are sensitized, as …

Singer’S Voice Quality - Genetic Or Environmental Influences?, Dobra Baum

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

This paper explores the singing voice in terms of the vocal mechanism’s key anatomical features and the physiology of the vocal function. It focuses on phonation and resonation and examines the anatomy and physiology of the vocal tract and the respiratory system. The aim is to determine whether the singer’s voice is only the product of genetics or due to environmental influences. It conducts a procedure to evaluate how singers use their voices to modify breathing, pitch, volume, and timbre through resonance shaping. It also investigates the hereditary transmission of a good singing voice, on chromosome 12q, between relatives, and …

Full Issue: Volume 16, Number 2, Spring 2023

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Complete .pdf file of Volume 16, Number 2 of The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences. Published Spring 2023.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Traditional Drugs Vs. Alternative Medicine, Menachem Rubenstein

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease which is inflammatory and chronic. This disease affects the joint linings of those with this condition, which causes painful swelling. Complications of this disease can cause problems in the patients’ eyes, skin, heart, lungs, and other organs. Being that there is no cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis, different treatment approaches are aimed to reduce the current pain and to slow further damage. In this paper, we will present a summary of past and present treatments to address the best possible treatment options for Rheumatoid arthritis. We will place an added emphasis on the use …

Alcohol Consumption And Its Effects On The Liver, Eveline Weinreb

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Thousands of people die each year in the United States from alcohol related deaths. Why does the metabolism of alcohol cause severe damage to the body? Ethanol enters the body in the form of wine, and other alcoholic beverages and travels through the digestive system and then to the liver where it is metabolized. There are a series of steps involved in the breakdown of ethanol, and toxic byproducts are formed such as reactive oxygen species (ROS). These oxygen radicals can lead to damaged deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and to the formation of adducts. Chronic alcohol consumption can lead to liver …

Overexpression Of Abcc1 And Abcg2 Confers Resistance To Bmn-673, A Poly (Adp-Ribose) Polymerase (Parp) Inhibitors, Qiuxu Teng

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer remains a growing public health challenge worldwide. Although the development of chemotherapies has effectively reduced the cancer death rate and improved patients’ prognosis, the frequent occurrence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) in cancer has caused impairments on the efficacy of many structure-unrelated anticancer agents, leading to treatment failure and recurrence. One of the most common causes of MDR is the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters on cancer cell membranes, which transport anticancer drugs out of cancer cells, thereby reducing the intracellular drug concentration. BMN-673 (talazoparib) is a potent poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor that is approved for BRCA-mutated HER2-negative …

Mancozeb Exposure Results In Oxidative Stress And Disruption Of Mitochondrial Complexes Iii & Iv In Transformed Human Colon Cells, Amanda Dhaneshwar

Theses and Dissertations

The ethylene bisdithiocarbamate pesticides, a subclass of the dithiocarbamate pesticides, are broad spectrum organometallic fungicides used on a variety of crops. The fungicide Mancozeb is comprised of an ethylene bisdithiocarbamate backbone complexed to the metals manganese and zinc. Ingestion of food containing pesticide residue and occupational exposure are common routes of Mancozeb exposure. Previous work demonstrated that Mancozeb exposure to HT-29 colon cancer cells resulted in cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and disruption of mitochondrial complex I, II, and V activity. The current study investigated the effect of Mancozeb exposure on mitochondrial complex III and IV activity and oxidative stress parameters in the …

Cytotoxicity Of Copper (Ii) Octanoate On Mouse Hippocampal Astrocytes, Ali A. Shohatee

Theses and Dissertations

Copper, as an essential trace element, is crucial for various biological processes but has also been utilized as a constituent of various pesticides for decades. Copper (II) octanoate is a pesticide utilized as a fungicide and is approved for use in the production of certified organic foods. Previous studies have implicated copper as an inducer of oxidative stress and activator of the Nrf2-ARE pathway. Nrf2 is essential in regulating the transcription of various genes to alleviate toxicity such as those involved in glutathione synthesis and detoxification. Due to the limited toxicological data, this study into the potential induction of oxidative …

Growth And Survival Of Amphibians Exposed To Road Salt And Glyphosate-Based Herbicide, Jerica Eaton

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Amphibian populations are threatened by increasing levels of environmental pollution resulting from human activities. Areas with mixed land use that include agriculture and urban development experience increased contamination from surface herbicide and road deicer application. Upon entering water sources, these chemicals have the capacity to disrupt the natural dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of these contaminants on amphibian populations. I used the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) as a model, rearing larvae from hatching to metamorphosis. I subjected larvae in each of the treatment groups to varying levels of herbicide and salt concentrations. …

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome And Its Effects On Brain Development, Miriam Bayaz

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Birth defects caused by maternal alcohol use during pregnancy, such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), are well-documented and preventable. The etiology, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, prevalence, and long-term effects of FAS are all covered in this paper’s thorough evaluation of the current state of knowledge. The teratogenic effects of alcohol on the growing fetus, as well as genetic, environmental, and maternal variables, all play a role in the complex etiology of FAS. A wide spectrum of physical, mental, and behavioral problems resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure on fetal development are discussed. FAS is characterized clinically by facial dysmorphology, growth retardation, central …

Sanfilippo Syndrome: Symptoms, Therapies And The Search For A Cure, Elisheva Garfinkel

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Sanfilippo syndrome, also named Mucopolysaccharidosis III (MPS) is an uncommon disorder that develops due to abnormalities in the nervous system and brain. Aspects of this condition include losing motor and mental function beginning at just a few months old. Four different proteins are involved in the breakdown of Heparin Sulfate (HS) in the extracellular matrix. “When one of these proteins is missing or inadequate, Mucopolysaccharidosis III (MPS), can result (“Sanfilippo Syndrome”, 2019) The specific protein that is insufficient will determine which of the four corresponding forms of Sanfilippo syndrome is present. “All variations of Sanfilippo Syndrome are easily identified by …

Porcine Skin Explants As A New Model To Investigate Microvesicle Particle Generation, Shikshita Singh

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The skin is exposed to a variety of external stressors, from irritants to toxic agents to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). While mice and human volunteers can be used for research studies, there are limitations in the range of environmental stressors that can be studied using these models. Therefore, our research team has been investigating the use of human skin explants as a model to study the immediate effects of environmental stressors ex vivo. Although this method has been successful, obtaining fresh human skin for these studies is difficult due to limited availability. To overcome this issue, we are evaluating the possibility …

Dataset For Manuscript: Comparing Performance Of Spectral Image Analysis Approaches For Detection Of Cellular Signals In Time-Lapse Hyperspectral Imaging Fluorescence Excitation-Scanning Microscopy, Silas J. Leavesley

BioImaging and BioSystems Research

The dataset contains raw and processed hyperspectral timelapse image data that are described in the manuscript:

Parker, M., Annamdevula, N. S., Pleshinger, D., Ijaz, Z., Jalkh, J., Penn, R., Deshpande, D., Rich, T. C. & Leavesley, S. J. Comparing Performance of Spectral Image Analysis Approaches for Detection of Cellular Signals in Time-Lapse Hyperspectral Imaging Fluorescence Excitation-Scanning Microscopy. Bioengineering 10, 642 (2023).

Differences In The Neurological Pathways Of Innate And Learned Fear, Efrat Jacob

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Fear is a fundamental emotion for survival. However, not all fears are the same, leading to a necessary distinction between the two main subsections of fear; innate and learned. This research paper investigates whether the neural pathways underlying innate and learned fear are independent of each other. Using optogenetics and pharmacology, researchers have manipulated specific brain regions and circuits involved in fear processing, such as the amygdala, hypothalamus, and PAG (periaqueductal gray). By measuring the behavioral and physiological indicators of fear in rodents exposed to different types of stimuli, research suggests that there may be partial overlap between the neural …

Keratoconus: The Conical Corneal Conundrum And Its Evolving Treatments, Sima Friedman

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Keratoconus is an eye disease that transforms the shape of the cornea from its normal oval shape to a conical shape. This can lead to a decrease in vision and, if not treated, can lead to a loss of vision. Depending on the severity and progression of each case, many treatment options are now available, ranging from cross linking procedures and special contact lenses to corneal transplants.

Revisiting The 2018 Corsica Oil Spill - A Preliminary Case Study Of Ecosystem Recovery From Pahs In Yelkouan Shearwater (Puffinus Yelkouan), Makenna Mahrer

CMC Senior Theses

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a specific class of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) heavily associated with crude oil, and pose genotoxic and physiological threats to marine life when released into the aquatic environment during a petroleum spill. This study seeks to understand the residual impacts of the 2018 Corsica oil spill on Puffinus yelkouan (Yelkouan Shearwater), a seabird endemic to the Mediterranean basin, using the species as a bioindicator for contamination in the region. Though classified by the IUCN Red List as ‘vulnerable,’ this species remains grossly understudied in present monitoring literature. This study made use of blood samples and …

Effects Of Elevated Extracellular Dopamine On Astrocytes In The Nucleus Accumbens, Mengfan Xia

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Nucleus accumbens is involved in processing of motivational and affective behaviors and plays a significant role in development and maintenance of substance use. Released from the ventral tegmental area into the nucleus accumbens, the mesolimbic dopamine controls incentive salience and facilitates learning of reinforcement and reward-related motor functions. Recent studies reveal that, in the context of cocaine exposure, dopamine transmission in the ventromedial striatum is pivotal to the regulation of initial drug use. Astrocytes, a major subpopulation of the brain glial cells, are an active component of the so-called tripartite synapse and communicate with neurons through the release of transmitters …

Entangled Mangrove Roots: The Shrimp Industry, Ancestral Afro-Descendant People, And Community Resistance In Esmeraldas, Ecuador, O'Philia Le

Pitzer Senior Theses

Mangroves are one of the most important ecosystems because of the many services they provide on a local and global scale, but in contrast, are one of the most threatened by anthropogenic activities at a global level. Being sources of food for various kinds of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks, they are essential for the economy, culture, and livelihood of locals in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. This thesis takes an environmental justice approach in the discussion of the loss of mangroves in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. While toxic industries may not be apparent at first, environmental injustice prevails in adverse human health effects, environmental degradation, …