Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Mise En Visibilité Des Situations D’Exposition Cutanée Aux Pesticides Et Des Pratiques De Prévention : Développement Méthodologique Réalisé En Collaboration Avec Des Producteurs De Pommes Québécois (2e Édition), Caroline Jolly, Sylvie Beaugrand, Ludovic Tuduri, Élise Ledoux, Alain Garrigou

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Dans une optique de rentabilité visant la survie de l’entreprise, et pour répondre aux attentes de qualité du marché, les agriculteurs utilisent des pesticides. La littérature scientifique documente largement les effets à la santé susceptibles d’être liés à l’utilisation des pesticides. Plusieurs auteurs mentionnent l’importance de la voie cutanée comme voie d’exposition aux pesticides. Ce rapport présente le développement d’une méthodologie mixte alliant ergonomie et expologie visant à documenter l’exposition cutanée, les situations d’exposition et les pratiques de prévention associées.

Il s’appuie sur un devis de recherche par étude de cas qui se décline en quatre étapes : une étude …

Using Culturally Focused Storytelling To Empower Appalachian Kentucky Youth To Understand And Address Cancer Disparities In Their Communities, Lauren K. Collett, Lauren Hudson, Chris Prichard, Nathan L. Vanderford

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates in the nation with the Appalachian region of the state being most affected. These rates are driven by health behaviors and inequities in social determinants of health. Herein, Appalachian Kentucky students with the University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) program were engaged in a storytelling exercise by writing culturally framed essays. Students discussed their personal experiences with cancer and their thoughts on the causes of and potential solutions to Appalachian Kentucky’s cancer disparities. Content analysis was used to identify common themes, subthemes, and subtopics in the essays regarding …

Characteristics And Assessing Biological Risks Of Airborne Bacteria In Waste Sorting Plant, Abbas Norouzian Baghani, Somayeh Golbaz, Gholamreza Ebrahimzadeh, Marcelo I. Guzman, Mahdieh Delikhoon, Mehdi Jamshidi Rastani, Abdullah Barkhordari, Ramin Nabizadeh

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Examining the concentration and types of airborne bacteria in waste paper and cardboard sorting plants (WPCSP) is an urgent matter to inform policy makers about the health impacts on exposed workers. Herein, we collected 20 samples at 9 points of a WPCSP every 6 winter days, and found that the most abundant airborne bacteria were positively and negatively correlated to relative humidity and temperature, respectively. The most abundant airborne bacteria (in units of CFU m⁻³) were: Staphylococcus sp. (72.4) > Micrococcus sp. (52.2) > Bacillus sp. (30.3) > Enterococcus sp. (24.0) > Serratia marcescens (20.1) > E. coli (19.1) > Pseudomonas sp. (16.0) > Nocardia …

Research Priorities Of Applying Low-Cost Pm2.5 Sensors In Southeast Asian Countries, Shih-Chun Candice Lung, To Thi Hien, Maria Obiminda L. Cambaliza, Ohnmar May Tin Hlaing, Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, Mohd Talib Latif, Puji Lestari, Abdus Salam, Shih-Yu Lee, Wen-Cheng Vincent Wang

Physics Faculty Publications

The low-cost and easy-to-use nature of rapidly developed PM2.5 sensors provide an opportunity to bring breakthroughs in PM2.5 research to resource-limited countries in Southeast Asia (SEA). This review provides an evaluation of the currently available literature and identifies research priorities in applying low-cost sensors (LCS) in PM2.5 environmental and health research in SEA. The research priority is an outcome of a series of participatory workshops under the umbrella of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project–Monsoon Asia and Oceania Networking Group (IGAC–MANGO). A literature review and research prioritization are conducted with a transdisciplinary perspective of providing useful scientific evidence in assisting …

The Benefits And Impact Of Covid Lockdown On The Environment, Abeni El-Amin Ph.D.

Management Faculty Publications

Evidence-based research indicates that river basins are cleaner due to fewer people driving due to community lockdowns. Further, air quality has improved due to lessened home-to-work/school transportation and more Work-From-Home (WFH) remote options. Moreover, governments are experiencing challenges providing food to the most vulnerable communities from a food security standpoint. For example, those in global slums are particularly challenged during this time. Air, water, soil, and noise pollution have diminished since the pandemic as manufacturing production has been severely reduced in some industries. Food quality has been diminished because manufacturers are focused more on the quality of products rather than …

Surveillance Of Sars-Cov-2 Rna In Open-Water Sewage Canals Contaminated With Untreated Wastewater In Resource-Constrained Regions, Paramita Basu, Sandeepan Choudhury, Varsha Shridhar, Poorva Huilgol, Samrat Roychoudhury, Indranil Nandi, Angela Chaudhuri, Arindam Mitra

Touro College of Pharmacy (New York) Publications and Research

Sewage-based surveillance for COVID-19 has been described in multiple countries and multiple settings. However, nearly all are based on testing sewage treatment plant inflows and outflows using structured sewage networks and treatment systems. Many resource-limited countries worldwide have open canals, lakes and other such waste-contaminated water bodies that act as a means of sewage effluent discharge. These could serve as hyperlocal testing points for detecting COVID-19 incidence using the effluents from nearby communities. However, a sensitive, robust and economical method of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection from open waste contaminated water bodies in resource-constrained regions is currently lacking. A protocol employed in …

Prevalence Of Infectious Diseases Among 6078 Individuals With Down Syndrome In The United States, Veronica Fitzpatrick, Anne Rivelli, Sagar Chaudhari, Laura Chicoine, Gengjie Jia, Andrey Rzhetsky, Brian Chicoine

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

A recent disease prevalence study of the largest documented Down syndrome (DS) cohort in the United States strongly suggested significant disparity in general infectious disease conditions among individuals with DS versus those without DS. In this follow-up retrospective analysis, we explored these differences in greater detail by calculating prevalence of 52 infectious diseases, across 28 years of data among 6078 individuals with DS and 30,326 age- and sex-matched controls, abstracted from electronic medical records within a large Midwestern health system. We found that the DS cohort had higher prevalence of pneumonias (including aspiration, viral, bacterial, pneumococcal, and unspecified/atypical); otitis externa; …

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 …

Rethinking Integration Of Environmental And Behavioral Stressors; Back To Energy Homeostasis And Function, Patricia E. Molina

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Zip8-Mediated Intestinal Dysbiosis Impairs Pulmonary Host Defense Against Bacterial Pneumonia, Derrick R. Samuelson, Deandra R. Smith, Kelly C. Cunningham, Todd A. Wyatt, Sannette C. Hall, Daryl J. Murry, Yashpal S. Chhonker, Daren L. Knoell

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Pneumococcal pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. An increased susceptibility is due, in part, to compromised immune function. Zinc is required for proper immune function, and an insufficient dietary intake increases the risk of pneumonia. Our group was the first to reveal that the Zn transporter, ZIP8, is required for host defense. Furthermore, the gut microbiota that is essential for lung immunity is adversely impacted by a commonly occurring defective ZIP8 allele in humans. Taken together, we hypothesized that loss of the ZIP8 function would lead to intestinal dysbiosis and impaired host defense against pneumonia. To …

Sars-Cov-2 Dysregulates Neutrophil Degranulation And Reduces Lymphocyte Counts, Abenaya Muralidharan, Todd A. Wyatt, St. Patrick Reid

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has given rise to one of the largest pandemics, affecting millions worldwide. High neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios have been identified as an important correlate to poor recovery rates in severe COVID-19 patients. However, the mechanisms underlying this clinical outcome and the reasons for its correlation to poor prognosis are unclear. Furthermore, the mechanisms involved in healthy neutrophils acquiring a SARS-CoV-2-mediated detrimental role are yet to be fully understood. In this study, we isolated circulating neutrophils from healthy donors for treatment with supernates from infected epithelial cells and direct infection with SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Infected epithelial cells …

Aldehyde Trapping By Adx-102 Is Protective Against Cigarette Smoke And Alcohol Mediated Lung Cell Injury, Carmen A. Ochoa, Claire Nissen, Deanna Mosley, Christopher Bauer, Destiny Jordan, Kristina L. Bailey, Todd A. Wyatt

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Most individuals diagnosed with alcohol use disorders smoke cigarettes. Large concentrations of malondialdehyde and acetaldehyde are found in lungs co-exposed to cigarette smoke and alcohol. Aldehydes directly injure lungs and form aldehyde protein adducts, impacting epithelial functions. Recently, 2-(3-Amino-6-chloroquinolin-2-yl)propan-2-ol (ADX-102) was developed as an aldehyde-trapping drug. We hypothesized that aldehyde-trapping compounds are protective against lung injury derived from cigarette smoke and alcohol co-exposure. To test this hypothesis, we pretreated mouse ciliated tracheal epithelial cells with 0–100 µM of ADX-102 followed by co-exposure to 5% cigarette smoke extract and 50 mM of ethanol. Pretreatment with ADX-102 dose-dependently protected against smoke and …

Surface Modification Of Biodegradable Microparticles With The Novel Host-Derived Immunostimulant Cpdi-02 Significantly Increases Short-Term And Long-Term Mucosal And Systemic Antibodies Against Encapsulated Protein Antigen In Young Naïve Mice After Respiratory Immunization, Jacob E. Parriott, Jason P. Stewart, D. David Smith, Stephen M. Curran, Christopher D. Bauer, Todd A. Wyatt, Joy A. Phillips, Elizabeth Lyden, Geoffrey M. Thiele, Joseph A. Vetro Phd

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Generating long-lived mucosal and systemic antibodies through respiratory immunization with protective antigens encapsulated in nanoscale biodegradable particles could potentially decrease or eliminate the incidence of many infectious diseases, but requires the incorporation of a suitable mucosal immunostimulant. We previously found that respiratory immunization with a model protein antigen (LPS-free OVA) encapsulated in PLGA 50:50 nanoparticles (~380 nm diameter) surface-modified with complement peptide-derived immunostimulant 02 (CPDI-02; formerly EP67) through 2 kDa PEG linkers increases mucosal and systemic OVA-specific memory T-cells with long-lived surface phenotypes in young, naïve female C57BL/6 mice. Here, we determined if respiratory immunization with LPS-free OVA encapsulated in …

Post-Endotoxin Exposure-Induced Lung Inflammation And Resolution Consequences Beneficially Impacted By Lung-Delivered Il-10 Therapy, Jill A. Poole, Rohit Gaurav, Aaron Schwab, Amy J. Nelson, Angela Gleason, Debra J. Romberger, Todd A. Wyatt

Journal Articles: Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health

Although lung diseases typically result from long-term exposures, even a robust, one-time exposure can result in long-lasting consequences. Endotoxin is a ubiquitous environmental/occupational inflammatory agent often used to model airway inflammation. Using a murine model, the return to lung homeostasis following high dose inhalant lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10-100 μg) exposure were delineated over 2 weeks. LPS-induced rapid weight loss, release of proinflammatory mediators, and inflammatory cell influx with prolonged persistence of activated macrophages CD11c⁺CD11b⁺ and recruited/transitioning CD11c^intCD11b⁺ monocyte-macrophages out to 2 weeks. Next, lung-delivered recombinant (r) interleukin (IL)-10 was intratracheally administered for 3 doses initiated …

Root Phenotyping Of Peptide-Treated Glycine Max, Salem Jackson, Fiona Goggin

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Plant elicitor peptides (Peps) – endogenous chains of amino acids involved in natural plant defense – have been shown to decrease damage from herbivores and pathogens by inducing an immune response, increasing the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCS), transcripts, and metabolites. Exogenous treatment of soybean seeds with plant elicitor peptide GmPep3 has been shown to induce these broad-spectrum defenses and offers a new method for increasing crop yield. However, the effects of GmPep3 on indicators of soybean health – root characteristics, growth stages, etc. – have not been fully realized. Using the root-phenotyping platform RhizoVision Explorer, several root traits …

Os-Walk-Eu: An Open-Source Tool To Assess Health-Promoting Residential Walkability Of European City Structures, Stefan Fina, Christian Gerten, Brian Pondi, Lorraine D'Arcy, Niamh O' Reilly, David Sousa Vale, Mauro Pereira, Samuele Zilio

Articles

Introduction This paper introduces OS-WALK-EU, a new open-source walkability assessment tool developed specifically for urban neighbourhoods and using open-source spatial data. A free and open-source tool, OS-WALK-EU is accessible to the general public. It uses open data available worldwide and free online services to compute accessibility, while at the same time allowing users to integrate local datasets if available. Based on a review of existing measurement concepts, the paper adopts dimensions of walkability that were tested in European city environments and explains their conceptualization for software development. We invite the research community to collaboratively test, adopt and use the tool …

Regenerating Agroecosystems By Overcoming Human Exceptionalism In Designing For Increased Equity Of Benefits From Ecoservices, Ali Loker, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our commentary explores three critical issues related to ecosystem services. First is how ecoservices are currently designed and implemented primarily for human benefit without concern for how these impact other species. We conclude that awareness of this imbalance is the first step toward meaningful change. Second we observe that human exceptionalism guides most decisions, and ask whether we can overcome this mind-set to embrace ecoregeneration and design of resilient and mutually beneficial agroecosystems. Our attitude toward the challenge and moving toward greater humility about human roles that guide management decisions in the ecosystem is a requisite for change. Third we …

Understanding Parents' Experiences With Children With Type 1 Diabetes: A Qualitative Inquiry, Justin A. Haegele, Steven K. Holland, Eddie Hill

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Parenting is often described as a stress-inducing experience, which can be further complicated or made more stressful and anxiety-inducing when parenting children with chronic conditions such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). The incidence of T1D among children has risen and continues to rise globally, resulting in a need to understand the experiences of parenting children with T1D. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to explore the lived experiences, and the meaning ascribed to those experiences, of being a parent of a child with T1D. This qualitative study was conducted through an interpretivist paradigm and includes the experiences of 29 …

How Comprehensive And Effective Are Waste Management Policies During The Covid-19 Pandemic? Perspectives From The Philippines, Geminn Louis C. Apostol, Angelina Gabrielle A. Acolola, Michelle Alexandra Edillon, Sary Valenzuela

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

This study presents a comprehensive analysis on policies governing the management of COVID-19 waste in the Philippines, highlighting gaps in pre-existing policies and opportunities for further policy development and adaptation in the context of present and future public health emergencies. A hybrid search strategy and consultative process identified fifty (50) policy documents directly impacting the management of wastes (general domestic, healthcare, and household healthcare waste) released prior to and during the pandemic. Content analysis revealed comprehensive policy coverage on managing general domestic waste and healthcare waste. However, there remains a dearth in policies for managing household healthcare waste, an emerging …

Pfas Environmental Contamination In Central Maine, Megan H. Andersen

Honors Theses

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative chemicals that are used in a variety of consumer products and industrial applications. Paper mills across the state of Maine have used PFAS in their industrial paper making processes, and their wastes often flow for treatment into municipal sewage treatment facilities. PFAS contaminated municipal wastewater from the general use of PFAS consumer products are also processed by these plants. Liquid waste is condensed into solid waste septage and sludge, and in what was thought to be an environmentally friendly repurposing practice, municipal sludge and septage has been spread on plots …