Environmental Toxicology Syllabus Spring 2020-551

Name______________________________

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE AND NATURAL SCIENCES Alabama A&M University Normal, AL 35762 COURSE SYLLABUS Spring 2020 Course Number Course Title

NRE 551 Environmental Toxicology

Call Number/Section

NRE 551-13802

Class Times Class Location

Online

Prerequisites

None

Textbook

Instructor Office Office Hours E-mail address Telephone number

Introduction to Environmental Toxicology Molecular Substructures to Ecological Landscapes. Fifth Edition.

Wayne G. Landis, Ruth M. Sofield and Ming­Ho Yu. CRC Press. Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, 2018 Dr. Elica M. Moss 212 Carver Complex South-Thomas Wing TBD or call for appointment elica.moss@aamu.edu 256-372-8219

COURSE DESCRIPTION Environmental toxicology is the study of the nature, properties, effects and detection of toxic substances in the environment and in any environmentally exposed species, including humans.

This course will provide a general understanding of toxicology related to the

environment. Fundamental toxicological concepts will be covered including doseresponse relationships, absorption of toxicants, distribution and storage of toxicants, biotransformation and elimination of toxicants, target organ toxicity, mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and risk assessment.

The course will include an overview of chemodynamics of contaminants in the environment including fate and transport. The course will examine chemicals of environmental interest and how they are tested and regulated.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES SLO#1: Discuss the importance of environmental toxicology and the laws that govern environmental pollution SLO#2: Describe the framework for environmental toxicology as it relates global climate change air pollution, water pollution, and soil pollution SLO#3: Explain and Illustrate the Dose-Response relationship SLO#4: Describe the occurrence of toxicants in acute and chronic contexts.

SLO#5: Evaluate the toxic action of pollutants as described through uptake, transport, storage and metabolism SLO#6: Understand the mechanisms of risk assessment CLASS FORMAT Academic Misconduct: All students must conduct their studies at AAMU honestly, ethically and in accordance with accepted standards of academic conduct. Any form of academic conduct that is contrary to these standards is academic misconduct, for which AAMU may penalize a student. Specifically it is academic misconduct for a student to: present copied, falsified or improperly obtained data as if it were the result of laboratory work, field trips or other investigatory work; include in the student's individual work material that is the result of significant assistance from another person if that assistance was unacceptable according to the instructions or guidelines for that work; assist another student in the presentation of that student's individual work in a way that is unacceptable according to the instructions or guidelines for that work; cheat; (Cheating is dishonest conduct in assessment); plagiarism (Plagiarism is knowingly presenting the work or property of another person as if it were one's own.). I encourage each student to visit the AAMU’s Policies on Academic Misconduct for further details.

SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

The University provides environmental and programmatic access for persons with documented disabilities as defined in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disability Act of 1990. Any student who desires information or assistance in arranging needed services for a disabling condition should contact the Director of Special Students Services, Student Center, Room 203, (256) 372-4263.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT Technical Support: Single Sign-On (SSO) allows you to login to your Alabama A&M University applications (BlackBoard, Banner, Email, etc) using one username and one password to access applications eliminating the need to remember multiple sets of credentials. Sign in, or learn how to use myAAMU Services Online with step by step instructions. If you need further assistance, contact ITS help desk helpdesk@aamu.edu or 256-372-4357 or submit a ticket online https://aamuhelpdesk.bossdesk.io/home

TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE Tutorial assistance for undergraduate courses can be obtained from the Tutorial Assistance Network (TAN), a subsidiary of the Office of Academic Support Services.

TAN is located in Room 100C Buchanan Hall. The telephone number is 256-3725487. .

FACULTY COMMUNICATION Responses to email will be within 48hrs. Grading will be within 72 hrs of submission or 72 hrs after the due date. 10% deduction for late assignments which could also result in longer turn-around time.

Please use: elica.moss@aamu.edu or call 256-372-8219.

COURSE ASSESSMENT TOOL At the end of the course, each student is required to complete the following assessment tool for the course. This link is also available in the COURSE ANNOUNCEMENT section in Blackboard. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform? pli=1&formkey=dFNsMGcyMWFkMTRSWmphLWVQamdKWHc6MQ#gid=0

GRADE DETERMINATION Course Requirements Points Awarded Assessments 100/assessment (15) Mid-Term Exam 100 Final Exam 100 Peer-review Paper 150 Research Paper 150 2000 TOTAL Grading Scale

Percent of Total (%) 30 10 10 20 30 100

Number of Points List required number of points for each letter grade 1800-2000 1600-1799 1400-1599 1200-1399 <1199

Grade List letter grades that correspond with the percent and points.

A B C D F

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENTS

Midterm Assignment Research Paper Compile 4-8 peer reviewed journal articles of a topic of your interest. Note: You must include one article per organ system discussed in your review, and all articles must be related in some way (please ask if you have questions). You MUST consult with me prior to selecting the articles to have the topic approved. Provide a basic literature review of the current state of the science and support your findings in the journal article with information learned from lecture and the textbook. The review should be no longer than six pages (6) (double spaced) including a one-page ‘reference’ section.

References: Cite all your references (including methodological references) in full, including: authors (with initials), year, title, journal or source, publisher (if a book), pages.

If you use a web reference, you must cite the author of the page(s), the web address (in full) and the date you accessed the page. Web resources can change Note: The comparative journal review will be submitted electronically and you must also submit a full digital copy of every paper you include in your review. No paper will count unless we also have access to a full copy of the paper you reviewed.

Assignment Due: March 2, 2020.

FINAL PROJECT Each student will work on a project to investigate an environmental agent for which there is reason for concern about possible adverse health effects for human populations. The investigation will center on concepts developed during the term, with emphasis on relating environmental exposures and toxicological mechanisms to quantitative risk assessment of potential health effects. The topic should be an environmental agent(s) of recent or current notice that poses a significant potential impact on the health of human population(s). Examples of possible topics are: cell phones and brain cancer; endocrine disrupters; food additives; diesel exhaust and asthma incidence; a disease cluster associated with a specific chemical. Ideally, choose a topic on the basis of a recent report(s) in major lay­media such as newspapers, radio

talk shows, news magazines, television news, or web alerts. The most important thing is to find a topic that provides some personal excitement.

This written paper should be 10 pages (body), double spaced and will be graded relative to content, grammar, and overall quality. You can include pictures, charts and graphs in your paper.

Each student will also submit a Preliminary Project Proposal on February 7th, a Project Outline on March 15th, and the Completed Paper on April 19th.

COURSE OUTLINE Weeks Week 1

Topics Introduction to Environmental Toxicology

Assignments End of Chapter Assessment

Week 2

Frameworks and Paradigms for Environmental Toxicology

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 3

Overview of Toxicity-Testing Methods

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 4

Analysis of Exposure-Response

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 5

The Fate and Transport of Contaminants

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 6

Uptake and Modes of Action

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 7

Modification in Toxic Responses, Mixtures and Climate Change

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 8

Inorganic Gaseous Pollutants

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 9

Fluoride as a Contaminant of Developing Economies

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 10

Metals

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 11

Emerging Contaminants

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 12

Biotransformation, Detoxification and Biodegradation

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 13

Ecological Effects from Biomarkers to Populations

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 14

Ecological Effects: Community to Landscape Scales of Toxicological Impacts

End of Chapter Assessment

Week 15 Week 16

Ecological Risk Assessment Final Exam

End of Chapter Assessment