Toxicology Commons^™

Effects Of Heavy Metal Pollution On The Antipredator Behavior Of Orangethroat Darters (Etheostoma Spectabile), Caleb S. O'Neal

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Heavy metal pollution can have numerous negative impacts on stream fishes, including both lethal and sublethal effects. Because of the sensitivity of fishes to toxins, they are excellent environmental indicators of stream and watershed health. The Tri-State Mining District is a Superfund site located in parts of Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma that offers a good opportunity to study sublethal effects of heavy metal pollutants on fish behavior. I observed the antipredator behavior of Orangethroat Darters (Etheostoma spectabile) from 3 streams that varied in the abundance of heavy metal pollutants. In the lab, darters from the most polluted site …

Pectin And Alginate Extraction To Treat Liquid Cafo Manure, Clare Sunderman

Honors Projects

For this project, various extraction methods were used to extract pectin from Pastinaca Sativa and alginate from Macrocystis. These extractions were then dried and used in treating 250mL of manure along with a CaCl₂ or FeCl₃ coagulant. It was found that CaCl₂ was not as effective as FeCl₃ in coagulating manure. But the results obtained suggest that pectin and alginate obtained with a simpler extraction method is just as effective as the highly purified and refined pectin and alginate produced for the food industry, in the treatment of CAFO manure. The liquid portion of the …

Assessing The Role Of Chronic Arsenite Exposure In Disrupting The Egfr Signaling Axis., Christine Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chronic arsenic exposure is a risk factor for the development of pulmonary diseases, including lung cancer, but the exact mechanism is not yet fully understood. Many previous studies have relied on acute arsenic exposure (i.e. 1-10 uM arsenic for 24 hours) to study arsenic toxicological effects. However, acute exposure does not reflect the levels or duration of arsenic associated with environmental exposure, or drinking of contaminated well water. This dissertation differentiates the effects of acute versus chronic arsenic exposures on the EGFR signaling axis and suggests possible mechanisms for chronic arsenic-induced pulmonary diseases. The EGFR is a receptor tyrosine kinase …

Comparative Analysis Of Azo Dye Restriction In The International Textile Industry, Kayla Demark

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Azo dyes are the most used type of dye in the textile industry. Some of these dyes have the potential to be extremely toxic to both human health and the environment. While regulations of these dyes vary across the world, it is suggested that not enough is being done to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful azo dyes (Rawat et al., 2016). It is the responsibility of apparel companies to ensure that their products that contain azo dyes are safe for consumers.

The purpose of this study was to understand how azo dyes and their by-products are restricted …

Lc-Ms/Ms Method Development And Analysis Of Tricyclic Antidepressants In Human Plasma, Shahbaz Gul

Honors Theses

Depression has become one of the most prominent problems in society, disrupting both personal and social lives. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) were first developed in the 1950’s and became some of the leading anti-depressant medications on the market later that decade. Today, newer anti-depressants have risen to the forefront, being safer and having a lower side-effect probability. Nonetheless, TCAs continue to be prescribed for severe depression, especially in cases where the newer anti-depressants have failed. However, TCAs are still highly potent, the toxicity associated with these compounds cannot be ignored. They have considerable cardiovascular and neurological toxicity, and in the event …

Responses To Fine Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Exposures In Two Wild-Type Zebrafish Strains, Connor Necaise

Honors Theses

Atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure poses great health risks across the globe, causing both acute and chronic illnesses in humans. Therefore, a more complete understanding of the mechanisms in which PM_2.5 induces these adverse health effects is urgently needed. Oxidative stress due to PAHs and other common components of PM_2.5 is a proposed mechanism for its adverse health effects. However, little is known about the actual mechanisms of PM_2.5 damage in humans. This study aimed to distinguish behavioral differences in two lines of zebrafish (AB & 5D) as a result of developmental exposure to …

Oxidative Potential And Composition Of Fine Particulate Matter At Two Locations In Mississippi, Victoria Claire Stevens

Honors Theses

Air pollution exposure has negative health effects on individuals across the globe. Negative impacts on human health have been documented in studies following both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution, and these adverse effects have been seen even at the lowest levels of exposure. Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has specifically been linked to these negative health effects. These effects come from many sources, but one large contribution to the negative health effects comes from oxidative stress. In this study, samples were collected from Hernando, MS and Gulfport, MS in September 2013 and November 2013. Black carbon (BC) …

Development Of A Rapid Drug Detection Method For Insects Using Paper Spray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (Psi-Ms), Alexandria Plyler

Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium

Insects have the ability to reflect the chemical environment that they have developed in. Thus, necrogenous insects can reflect the chemical environment of cadavers they have fed on. Forensic scientists can potentially utilize insect larvae as an alternate biological matrix to detect drugs in cadavers that are skeletonized, burned, or otherwise badly damaged. Analysis of insects using paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS), an analytical method requiring little to no sample preparation, could prove a rapid, cost-effective, and non-destructive alternative form of toxicological analysis. Traditional tissue analysis via GC and LC-MS often require lengthy sample preparation, use expensive reagents, and …

New Psychoactive Substances In Taiwan: The Current Situation And Initiative For Rational Scheduling, Wen-Jing Yu, Linda B. Cottler, Jih-Heng Li

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

Use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) has posed a global threat to public health and the security of the population. As of December 2019, the NPS items identified in total have outnumbered by three to one the controlled substances listed in the 1961 and 1971 UN Drug Conventions. However, most of these NPS have not been scheduled by the United Nations because of their easy modification on the chemical structures to shun control. Currently, the scheduling and control of NPS is mostly at the national level and a rational scheduling of NPS by objective assessments is essential but often lacking. …

Quercetin Blocks The Aggressive Phenotype Of Triple Negative Breast Cancer By Inhibiting Igf1/Igf1r-Mediated Emt Program, Wei-Jen Chen, Jie-Heng Tsai, Li-Sung Hsu, Chih-Li Lin, Hui-Mei Hong, Min-Hsiung Pan

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

The cancer-preventive activities of quercetin have been extensively studied in invasive breast cancer; however, the role of quercetin on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) with overexpression of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R) has not been resolved. In this article, we demonstrated that quercetin inhibited the activation of IGF1R and its downstream kinases Akt and Erk1/2 in a dose-dependent manner in human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (TNBC cell line). Related to this, quercetin markedly suppressed the metastatic phenotype and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of MDA-MB-231 cells by inhibiting the expression of EMT transcription factors Snail and Slug. Quercetin also increased the secretion of …

Suitability Of Sugar Alcohols As Antidiabetic Supplements: A Review, Nontokozo Z. Msomi, Ochuko L. Erukainure, Md. Shahidul Islam

Journal of Food and Drug Analysis

The major goals in the management of diabetes are to maintain normal control of glucose metabolism and glycemia. Dietary modification is one of the most recommended treatment modalities for diabetic patients. The use of foods sweetened with sugar alcohols (also known as polyols) such as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, isomalt and erythritol, has brought an escalating interest. Since some sugar alcohols do not raise plasma glucose, as they are partially digested and metabolised. Diet composition and adequacy may be altered by replacing carbohydrates with sugar alcohols. It has been established that these polyols are appropriate sugar substitutes for a …

Whole-Body Acute Contact Toxicity Of Formulated Insecticide Mixtures To Blue Orchard Bees (Osmia Lignaria), Joseph Belsky, David J. Biddinger, Neelendra K. Joshi

Entomology and Plant Pathology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Blue orchard bees, [Osmia lignaria (Say) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)], have been developed as an important pollinator for orchard crops in North America over the last 40 years. The toxicity of several pesticides to O. lignaria and other Osmia species has been previously reported. However, the field-realistic toxicity of formulated premix insecticides comprised of multiple active ingredients (each with a different mode of action) to O. lignaria has not been assessed. Here, we use a customized spray tower in a laboratory setting to assess adult male and female whole-body direct contact exposure to four formulated pesticide mixtures: thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin (TLC), …

Conservation Risks And Benefits Of Establishing Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Breeding Habitats Close To Maize And Soybean Fields In The North Central United States: A Landscape-Scale Analysis Of The Impact Of Foliar Insecticide On Nonmigratory Monarch Butterfly Populations, Tyler J. Grant, Niranjana Krishnan, Steven P. Bradbury

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Establishing habitat in agricultural landscapes of the north central United States is critical to reversing the decline of North America's eastern monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population. Insecticide use could create population sinks and threaten recovery. Discouraging habitat establishment within a 38-m zone around crop fields is a suggested risk mitigation measure. In Story County, Iowa, United States, this mitigation would discourage habitat establishment in 84% of roadsides and 38% of noncrop land. It is unclear if the conservation benefits from establishing habitat close to crop fields outweigh suppression of population growth owing to insecticide exposure. Consequently, monarch conservation …

How A Low-Cost Method For Cumulative Water-Sampling Shows Need For Improvement Of Legal Public-Contact Standards In The United States, Samuel C. Kessler

Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers

Across the world, it is estimated that 4.5 billion people live near water sources “impaired” for use or contact. Standards for human-interaction are established by international organizations such as the WHO, and legislative bodies from national to local levels with jurisdiction over the quality of our waterways to ensure public & environmental health. Standards are often assessed from “grab-samples” taken from a waterbody at a certain time, with a minimum number analyzed. Water-quality standards in the United States are enforced under the Clean Water Act (CWA) via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), applying to “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). …

Impact D’Un Stress Thermique Représentatif Des Milieux De Travail Sur L’Absorption Pulmonaire Et La Toxicocinétique De Trois Solvants Organiques, Axelle Marchand, Pierre Brochu, Jessie Ménard, Sami Haddad

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Plusieurs des changements physiologiques associés à la thermorégulation peuvent influencer la cinétique des substances chimiques dans le corps humain, comme la ventilation alvéolaire et la redistribution du débit sanguin aux organes. Si certaines mesures préventives peuvent permettre de protéger les travailleurs contre les effets directs de la chaleur, elles ne permettent toutefois pas d’empêcher les processus de thermorégulation de prendre place. Une exposition concomitante à la chaleur et aux substances chimiques volatiles peut donc entraîner des variations dans l’absorption par inhalation et dans la cinétique de ces substances, biaisant ainsi l’évaluation des données de biosurveillance.

Dans cette étude, l’influence de …

Environmentally Marginalized Populations: The "Perfect Storm" For Infectious Disease Pandemics, Including Covid-19, Gabriella Y. Meltzer, Oyemwenosa Avenbuan, Christina Awada, Oluwakemi B. Oyetade, Tricia Blackman, Simona Kwon Drph, Mph, Esther Erdei Phd, Judith T. Zelikoff Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

COVID-19 has exacted a severe toll on the United States population’s physical and mental health and its effects have been felt most severely among people of color and low socioeconomic status. Using illustrative case studies, this commentary argues that in addition to COVID-19 health disparities created by psychosocial stressors such as the inability to socially distance and access quality healthcare, environmental justice communities have the additional burden of disproportionate exposure to toxic contaminants that contribute to their higher risk of COVID-19. Environmental contaminants including heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants found contaminating their nearby environments can alter the immune response, …

Comparative Effects Of Chemical And Physical Sunscreen On Fertilization Of Purple Sea Urchins (Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus), Marilla Lippert, Maurice Codespoti Goodman, Nikki Adams

Biological Sciences

Organic compound-based “chemical” sunscreens dominate the commercial sunscreen market, but recent research has revealed the ingredients of these products are detrimental to the health of marine organisms. This revelation has led to increased popularity of mineral-based “physical” sunscreens, primarily containing zinc-oxide (ZnO), as environmentally safe alternatives. While they are marketed as environmentally safe, these claims are largely untested, and it is important to consider potential effects of ZnO-based sunscreens on the development of marine organisms. Though Zn is a necessary micronutrient in the ocean, excess Zn is released into marine environments from anthropogenic sources has negative effects on marine life. …

Assessment Of Monochloramine Toxicity On Three Small Coastal Organisms, Ashley K. Le

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Monochloramine ( is a secondary disinfectant used by water treatment facilities to eliminate lingering bacteria in basins, filters, and pipelines. While an effective disinfectant, monochloramine can have negative effects on aquatic organisms. Organis ms affected by the chemical can include species whose environment is near to effluent sites and aquaculture facilities that use tap water lines or has water intake pipes near to effluent sites. Three species commonly found in south Florida that are lik ely exposed to MCA by effluent sites or aquaculture facilities are mosquitofish Gambusia affinis pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum and the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria These …

Pharmaceuticals In The Environment: Health Implications And Environmental Toxicity, Jessica Phillips

Wayne State University Dissertations

Approximately 2.9 billion prescriptions are written annually in the United States, with a multitude of biochemical actions, with 63151 tons used by food producing animals worldwide and an additional 55-77 million prescriptions written for companion animals. With increasing prescription and unknown toxicologic effects of many of these chemicals, zebrafish (danio rerio), an NIH approved human model, were used to model potentially health effects. Significant abnormalities were seen with extended duration metformin exposure from 4 hours post fertilization up to 5 days post fertilization, although short term metformin exposure for 24 hours at 4-5 days post fertilization did not lead to …

Amphiphilic Cell-Penetrating Peptides Containing Natural And Unnatural Amino Acids As Drug Delivery Tools And Antimicrobial Agents, David Salehi

Pharmaceutical Sciences (MS) Theses

Cell-penetrating peptides containing arginine as positively charged residues and tryptophan or diphenylalanine as hydrophobic residues were synthesized. The synthesis was accomplished through the Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis in the presence of HBTU and DIPEA. The side-chain protected linear peptides were cleaved from the resin and cyclized in the presence of DIC and HOAt in the solution phase overnight. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was used to characterize the peptides.

The cytotoxicity of the synthesized peptides was determined in CCRF-CEM (human, lymphoblast peripheral blood), and HEK-293 (human, embryonic epithelial kidney healthy) cells using the MTS assay. A concentration of 10 µM was found …