Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

Afterschool Sustainability Club, Ethan Halman Gonzalez

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

In-depth lesson plans used at Riley Elementary to educate students about the environment around them and how to preserve it.

Cellular Toxicity Of Malonato (Ethylenediamine) Platinum (Ii) In Models Of Cancer, Sidikat Olanrewaju Olajuwon

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Platinum(II) compounds including the three FDA approved drugs, cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, are composed of two structural components, a leaving ligand, and a non-leaving ligand, each attached to a central platinum(II) atom. All bifunctional platinum compounds studied have similar mechanisms of initiating cell death. However, their efficacy as chemotherapeutics depends on the tissues in which the cancer originates. No model has explained these tissue-specific efficacies. We hypothesized that the efficacies of these platinum compounds vary due to structural differences in the leaving ligands. To test the influence of the leaving ligand on cellular survival, novel platinum compounds were synthesized, and …

Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, And Clinical Manifestations Of Acute Esophageal Necrosis In Adults, Obaid Rehman, Urooj Jaferi, Inderbir Padda, Nimrat Khehra, Harshan Atwal, Mayur Parmar

HPD Articles

Acute esophageal necrosis (AEN), also termed "black esophagus," is a unique and uncommon occurrence observed in severely sick patients. Other terminologies include acute necrotizing esophagitis and Gurvits syndrome. This condition is described as a darkened distal third of the esophagus observed on endoscopy and presents as an upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleed, difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, fever, syncope, nausea, and vomiting. The etiology of AEN has been linked to several possibilities, such as excessive gastric acid reflux, hypoperfusion, and ischemia due to impaired vascular supply and hemodynamic instability. Risk factors include increased age, sex (male), heart disease, hemodynamic insufficiency, alcohol use, …

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 and Staff 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. …

Development Of Vaccines And Antivirals Against Zika Virus, Aryamav Pattnaik

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The re-emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV), an arbovirus, poses a major global human health concern because of its ability to cause congenital abnormalities and neurological diseases. While many candidate vaccines and antiviral drugs are in the developmental pipeline, none have been approved for use against ZIKV infection. This dissertation describes the characterization of one vaccine and two antiviral drug candidates against ZIKV infection. A bacterial ferritin-based nanoparticle vaccine, termed zDIII-F, is designed to display multiple copies of ZIKV E protein domain III on its surface. These stable nanoparticles are shown to induce robust antibody-mediated protection against lethal ZIKV infection in …

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, 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 …

Computational Analysis Of Type 3 Iodothyronine Deiodinase: Potential Inhibitors, Substrate Binding, And Dimer Structure, Eric Scott Marsan

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Thyroid hormones (THs) in mammalian tissues are crucial for development and maintaining metabolic homeostasis. Iodothyronine deiodinases (Dios) remove iodines from THs by a selenocysteine (Sec) residue, which either activates or inactivates them. Halogen bonding (XB) has been proposed to describe the interaction between the Se and I atoms of the T4-Dio complex. Disruption of TH homeostasis by xenobiotics, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can cause deleterious effects on the endocrine system. Experimental studies have indicated that PBDEs and PCBs could disrupt TH homeostasis by inhibiting Dio through XB formation. However, no current quantitative study exists …

Genetic Testing For Antipsychotic Pharmacotherapy: Bench To Bedside, Mujeeb U. Shad

Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Faculty Research

There is growing research interest in learning the genetic basis of response and adverse effects with psychotropic medications, including antipsychotic drugs. However, the clinical utility of information from genetic studies is compromised by their controversial results, primarily due to relatively small effect and sample sizes. Clinical, demographic, and environmental differences in patient cohorts further explain the lack of consistent results from these genetic studies. Furthermore, the availability of psychopharmacological expertise in interpreting clinically meaningful results from genetic assays has been a challenge, one that often results in suboptimal use of genetic testing in clinical practice. These limitations explain the difficulties …

Isolation And Characterization Of Ethyl Acetate Fraction From Abroma Augusta L As An Anti-Inflammatory Agent, Madyawati Latief, Indra Lasmana Tarigan, Muhaimin Muhaimin, Hilda Amanda, Nike Desvi Yulianti

Makara Journal of Science

Abroma augusta is a bush plant that lives on the edge of the river. This plant is commonly used as an anti-inflammatory drug for joints and broken bones. It contains several secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, triterpenoids, steroids, and flavonoids, which exhibit anti-inflammatory activity. UV-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry of isolate 1.3 indicated absorption at a maximum wavelength of 282 nm. The wavelength suggested that the electron transition π–π* is the absorption of UV spectra typical for triterpenoid compounds that have chromophores in the form of non-conjugated double bonds. FT-IR spectrophotometer characterization data from isolate 1.3 revealed the presence of triterpenoid compounds …

The Effects Of Agrochemical Pesticide Applications On Target And Off-Target Species In Aquatic Ecosystems, Bryan K. Delius

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increase in the global human population is driving agricultural expansion, which increases the likelihood and degree by which agrochemicals impact aquatic systems. It is projected that by 2100 the global human population will exceed 11 billion, and to feed the increased human population, the necessary increase in agricultural infrastructure is estimated to double irrigation, nearly triple fertilizer applications, and increase pesticide applications by tenfold. It stands to reason that wetlands impacts from agriculture are also likely to increase as the industry expands its operation to meet the globally growing demand for food.

Wetlands are highly productive habitats that not …

Profiling Pretomanid As A Therapeutic Option For Tb Infection: Evidence To Date., Stephani L. Stancil, Fuad Mirzayev, Susan M. Abdel-Rahman

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most deadly infectious disease globally. Although most individuals achieve a cure, a substantial portion develop multi-drug resistant TB which is exceedingly difficult to treat, and the number of effective agents is dwindling. Development of new anti-tubercular medications is imperative to combat existing drug resistance and accelerate global eradication of TB. Pretomanid (PA-824) represents one of the newest drug classes (ie, nitroimidazooxazines) approved in 2019 by the United States Food and Drug Administration as part of a multi-drug regimen (with bedaquiline and linezolid, BPaL) and recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat extensively-resistant (XR-TB) and …

A Study Of Trpa1 Activation Via Covalent Electrophilic Modification Of Cysteines, Thomas A. Parks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A subset of sensory nerves called nociceptors are stimulated by noxious stimuli and evoke nocifensive responses in different organ systems. Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) is a tetrameric, nonselective, cation channel that initiates the generator potential that evokes afferent signaling in nociceptive nerves. TRPA1 is activated many harmful irritants, such as food chemicals, environmental pollutants, reactive oxygen species and other endogenous mediators. Most TRPA1 agonists have electrophilic properties, which covalently modify cysteine residues on the cytosolic side of the channel. Biochemical studies in our lab have identified four cysteines (C273, C621, C665, C1085) that rapidly bound iodoacetamide (irreversible electrophile); …

Corrigendum To “Novel Uplc-Ms/Ms Method For Standardization Of Niazimicin Content In Edible Seeds And Leaves Of Moringa Oleifera Lam” [J Food Drug Anal 29 (2021) 128-143]

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

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Corrigendum To “Determination Of Glycidyl Esters And 3-Mcpd Esters In Edible Oils By Sample Pretreatment With The Combination Of Lipase Hydrolysis And Modified Quechers For Gc-Ms Analysis” [J Food Drug Anal 29 (2021) 153-167]

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

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Pepsin-Digested Chicken-Liver Hydrolysate Attenuates Hepatosteatosis By Relieving Hepatic And Peripheral Insulin Resistance In Long-Term High-Fat Dietary Habit, Yi-Hsieng Samuel Wu, Yi-Ling Lin, Wen-Yuan Yang, Sheng-Yao Wang, Yi-Chen Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

This study aims to clarify the effects of chicken liver hydrolysates (CLHs) on long-term high-fat diet (HFD)-induced insulin resistance (IR) and hepatosteatosis in mice. In vitro, the 400 mM oleic acid (OA)-added medium successfully stimulated the cellular steatosis on FL83B cells, and the cellular steatosis was attenuated ( p < 0.05) by supplementing with CLHs (4 mg/L). In vivo, the effects of CLHs on IR and hepatosteatosis development were tested in 20-week HFD-fed mice. HFD-induced increases in final body weight, but body weight gains of mice were decreased ( p < 0.05) by supplementing CLHs. Elevated ( p < 0.05) serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), free fatty acids (FFAs), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and fasted glucose values in HFD-fed mice decreased ( p < 0.05) by supplementing CLHs. Both results of hepatic steatosis and fibrotic scores also indicated the retardation ( p < 0.05) of the hepatosteatosis in cotreated groups. Moreover, the CLH supplementation sustained ( p < 0.05) hepatic and peripheral insulin signal sensitivity in HFD-fed mice. CLH supplementation could ameliorate hepatic lipid deposition, hepatic/peripheral IR in a long-term high-fat dietary habit, and also improve the universal glucose homeostasis by upregulating hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivities.

Adverse Effects On Birth Weight Of Parental Illegal Drug Use During Pregnancy And Within Two Years Before Pregnancy, Ching-Heng Lin, Wei-Szu Lin, I-An Wang, Jui Hsu, Shiow-Ing Wu, Chuan-Yu Chen

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

This study investigates possible links between maternal illegal drug use during pregnancy and up to two years before pregnancy with birth weight (BW), and explores the potential role of paternal illegal drug use on low birth weight. A population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted that linked four national databases in Taiwan. A total of 1,698 subjects with a criminal record of schedule I or II illegal drug use within two years before pregnancy were enrolled as the drug-exposed group, and 16,980 matched subjects were enrolled as the unexposed group. Multivariate analysis of BW found a decrease of 108.63 g (95% …

Simultaneously Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of The Representative Components In Kadsura Heteroclita Stem By Uhplc-Q-Orbitrap Hrms, Qian-Qian Liu, Bin Li, Kang Sun, Cai-Hong Li, Nuzhat Shehla, Yu-Pei Yang, Liang Cao, Wei Wang, Rong-Xia Liu

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Kadsura heteroclita (Roxb) Craib stem (KHS) is a medicinal plant used for the treatment of rheumatism arthritis diseases in Tujia ethnomedicine. Thus far, the complex chemical compositions in KHS are not clear, and the levels of the major compounds in KHS are not well understood. In this study, a novel UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS method was established for the simultaneous quali-quantitative analysis of KHS. A total of 204 compounds were identified, including triterpenoids, lignans, sesquiterpenes, fatty acids, phenolic acids, and flavonoids, more than 100 of which were first discovered in KHS. Using the same method, 12 representative bioactive components were successfully quantified. …

Characterization Of L-Theanine In Tea Extracts And Synthetic Products Using Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis, Matteo Perini, Silvia Pianezze, Luca Ziller, Federica Camin

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

L-theanine involves a great number of health benefits and dietary supplements containing this molecule are becoming increasingly popular. There is, therefore, a growing need to find ways to discriminate between natural L-theanine extracted from tea leaves and the cheaper, synthetic one obtained using specific bacterial enzymes. A first attempt of stable isotope ratio analysis characterization of the possible synthetic adulterant L-theanine (δ¹³C of -14.3±1.5‰), obtained from vegetable substrates with C4 photosynthetic cycle, and of the more expensive natural L-theanine (δ¹³C of -24.4±1.3‰), extracted from Camellia sinensis plants with C3 photosynthetic cycle, is reported here .

Development Of The Species-Specific Multiplex Pcr And Dna Sequencing Methods For Rapid Authentication Of Isatidis Folium And Its Adulterants, Yung-Chuan Hsieh, Ming-Sian Wu, Hui-Chun Lee, Chia-Yun Hsieh, Shih-Shan Huang, Chia-Fen Tsai, Ya-Tze Lin, Mei-Chih Lin, Su-Hsiang Tseng, Der-Yuan Wang

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Isatis indigotica Fort. (family Cruciferae), is an herb widely used in traditional herbal medicine and its dried leave was named “ISATIDIS FOLIUM”. Baphicacanthus cusia (Ness) Bremek. and Polygonum tinctorium Ait. are commonly misused as ISATIDIS FOLIUM in Chinese Medicine pharmacy. For the purpose of being not misused, specific primers based on the sequence difference of chloroplast trnH-psbA intergenic spacer were designed and Multiplex polymerase chain reaction method (Multiplex PCR) was developed. In this study, 29 original herbal materials were analyzed and our results show that DNA size after Multiplex PCR was able to distinguish variations between three herbs. DNA fragments …