Behavioral & Community Health Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2802
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Item Diversity, dynamics, and dissemination of microbial communities in reclaimed and untreated surface waters used for agricultural irrigation(2019) Chopyk, Jessica; Sapkota, Amy R; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)High quality freshwater is a vital resource for sustaining agriculture and feeding a growing global population. Yet, due to increasing declines in groundwater, key food production regions across the world face uncertainty with regard to water availability. Nontraditional irrigation water sources, such as reclaimed water (advanced treated municipal wastewater) and untreated surface water (e.g. creeks, ponds, and brackish rivers), may contribute to sustainable solutions to conserve groundwater supplies. However, the microbial community composition and dynamics within these water sources are typically poorly characterized and comparative analysis of their microbial communities are rare. Using high-throughput, cultivation-independent sequencing methodologies, this dissertation research focused on three aims: 1) exploring the functional and taxonomic features of bacteria in nontraditional irrigation water sources; 2) assessing the bacterial and viral communities of agricultural pond water in relation to seasonality; and 3) describing the dynamics, composition, and potential dissemination of irrigation water microbiota from a freshwater creek to an irrigated field. The first aim was addressed through a broad investigation of bacteria within agricultural ponds, freshwater creeks, brackish rivers, and reclamation facilities. Through metagenomic-based analyses, features of the bacterial community, such as antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) arrays, were found to vary by sampling date and specific site. For the second aim, agricultural pond water was sampled over two time periods and found to harbor diverse bacteria and bacteriophage species, the abundance and composition of which were influenced by factors characteristic of the pond’s topography and seasonality. For the final aim, samples from a creek used actively for agricultural irrigation, as well as samples of pre- and post-irrigated soil, were analyzed. ARGs and virulence factors were identified in the water and soil samples, with the majority being specific to their respective environment. Moreover, analyses of CRISPR arrays from the creek samples indicated the persistence of certain bacterial lineages, as well as specific interactions between creek bacteriophage and their hosts. Overall, this research improves scientific knowledge of bacterial and viral composition, dynamics, and interactions that can be utilized to assess the suitability and safety of nontraditional irrigation water sources.Item TRACKING ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFEECTIONS IN A COLLEGE RESIDENT COMMUNITY(2018) Adenaiye, Oluwasanmi; Milton, Donald K; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Influenza and other acute respiratory infections (ARIs) contribute significantly to human morbidity and mortality globally. Animal experiments and human challenge studies have not provided an adequate explanation about the relative importance of social, behavioral and physical environment in the transmission of ARIs and are limited due to uncertainty about the generalizability of their findings to a natural infection. Also, household transmission studies seldom characterize all potential transmission covariates e.g. environmental conditions, leaving a gap in the knowledge of transmission mechanisms. Here, we describe the design and preliminary results of an extensive college dormitory ARI transmission study that has the potential to characterize several important ARI transmission covariates; we critically appraise the design and show how the findings from such design can be applied to answer most of the vital questions that exist about the transmission of ARIs.Item Investigation of Environmental Hazards Near Urban Agricultural Sites and Food Handling Behaviors of Consumers(2018) Shargo, Isabel H; Wilson, Sacoby; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Despite knowledge of the presence of environmental contaminants at legacy sites including Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facilities, land restoration sites (LRPs), and Superfund sites, limited research has been done to investigate proximity to environmental hazards and potential exposure risks of consumers to urban-grown produce. We conducted a spatial analysis on the distribution of legacy sites, healthy food priority areas, and urban farms by various sociodemographic factors and surveyed consumers to assess food handling behaviors. We found that more residents were unemployed, had less than a high school diploma and had a lower median household income in census tracts that hosted an urban farm and a TRI facility. Also, across most socio demographic groups, more than half of the individuals stated they ‘always’ washed the produce items surveyed. This research provides insight into the distribution of environmental hazards near urban farms and food handling behaviors of consumers of urban-grown produce.Item Health-Related Communication Behaviors of Environmental Action Gatekeepers: A Qualitative Study(2015) Pomerantz, Sarah; Aldoory, Linda; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore behaviors of community members regarding environmental health information. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with environmental action gatekeepers from Prince George’s County, Maryland and Wards 7 and 8 of the District of Columbia to identify health-related communication behaviors and how they make meaning of those behaviors. Participants engaged in a range of behaviors to acquire, manage, and transmit information related to local environmental health issues. Although different behavior patterns did not emerge among activists versus advocates, a number of factors including perceived community constraints and informational subjective norms were identified as potential influences on communication behaviors. These findings support existing theoretical models, and suggest future research on how communicative behaviors among environmental health and environmental justice advocates may differ from those working on traditional ecological environmental issues. Findings suggest future opportunities to improve environmental health information sufficiency in the region.