Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects over 65 million people globally. The initial identification of antiseizure efficacy and tolerability of any investigational agent is routinely defined in mouse and rat models of epilepsy. C57BL/6 mice are a commonly used inbred strain for antiseizure drug discovery, while CF-1 mice are a commonly used outbred strain. Although there is established data on the median effective anticonvulsant doses (ED50) of common prototype antiseizure drugs (ASD) in mice, there is limited quantitative data pertaining to the acute impact of anticonvulsant doses of ASDs on locomotor activity in an open field, which may inform on the potential for adverse effects in a clinical setting. This study aimed to provide a quantitative evaluation of the impact of ASDs on locomotor behavior to provide an added way to compare investigational agents to ASD standards-of-care. Male C57BL/6 or CF-1 mice (n = 8/treatment group/strain) were habituated to an open field 24 hours prior to the testing day. On the day of testing, mice were administered prototype ASDs (valproic acid, carbamazepine, levetiracetam, lamotrigine, phenobarbital, diazepam, ethosuximide, phenytoin, gabapentin) or vehicle by the intraperitoneal route. Mice were then allowed to explore the open field for the 30 minute period encompassing the time of peak effect of each ASD. Endpoints of locomotor behavior in the open field included time spent in the center of the field, vertical rearing, fecal boli, and total distance traveled. In CF-1 mice, diazepam generally reduced all measures of exploratory behavior whereas gabapentin increased the total distance traveled. This study establishes a comparative pharmacological profile of the effect of prototype ASDs on exploratory locomotor behavior of male outbred CF-1 and inbred C57BL/6 mice.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which abnormal brain activity causes spontaneous seizures, and behavioral comorbidities including anxiety, depression, and cognitive deficits. Epilepsy can result from many different inciting events, including infection, genetic background, or neurological damage. For example, status epilepticus (SE) is a clinical emergency defined as continuous seizures lasting longer than five minutes, which can increase susceptibility to developing epilepsy. Clinical studies in patients with epilepsy have shown that seizures of different severity can occur at discrete times of day or night, suggesting that there may be circadian patterns of seizure incidence in humans. In this study, a post-SE model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) was used to first establish whether there are any notable circadian patterns of seizure activity in a preclinical rat model of epilepsy that is commonly used for antiseizure drug development. Male Sprague Dawley rats were implanted with cortical electrodes one week prior to the systemic administration of the chemoconvulsant, kainic acid, to induce SE insult. The rats recovered from the SE insult and then went on to develop spontaneous recurrent seizures days to week later. The onset and severity of spontaneous seizures were then continuously monitored for 6 weeks, with seizure segregated by time of day in which they occurred: light vs dark cycle. Preliminary data suggest that rats from this model more frequently experience seizures during the dark phase, i.e. the active period of this nocturnal animal. Results from this study will establish the circadian pattern of spontaneous seizures in the post-kainic acid SE model of temporal epilepsy in rats. Further, this study provides the basis on which to then determine if chronic administration of prototype antiseizure drugs can be optimally administered prior to periods of peak seizure incidence to more effectively reduce long-term seizure burden in this model.

The narrative of nuclear patriotism was heavily promoted to justify the construction of plutonium production facilities like Hanford, as well as the use of plutonium-based atomic bombs against Japan. Nagasaki, bombed only days after Hiroshima, does not fit into this patriotic narrative and has subsequently been overlooked by the public. Just like the government minimizes the attention on Hanford in the United States, the bombing of Nagasaki is not as well known as the bombing of Hiroshima. As a result, Nagasaki victims have endured health disparities of equal magnitude in silence. We researched this topic further by conducting interview analysis, discourse analysis, critical film analysis, and literature review. We wish to connect Hanford and Nagasaki by focusing on downwinders and atomic bomb survivors. While Hiroshima has had more public exposure than the Nagasaki bombing, we want to bring to light the equally devastating impact of the bomb on the citizens of Nagasaki. Hanford and Nagasaki are tied together not only by association to nuclear weapons and radiation, but also by the silencing of their association to these weapons. These impacts are closer to home than one would expect, and it is essential to bring awareness to the unseen struggles within our international community. Cleanup of nuclear sites and nuclear regulation need to be regarded as national responsibilities to global safety, to ensure that history will not repeat itself.

From the years 1946 to 1958, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), a sovereign nation in free association with the United States, endured the nuclear detonation of 67 atomic bombs conducted by US military. As a result of the nuclear testing, many Marshallese were gravely affected by the radiation exposure: suffering multi-generational health problems as well as being displaced from their homes. The unprecedented amounts of nuclear contamination have inevitably forced the Marshallese to abandon their lands, which has severely disrupted their cultural practices and lifestyle that has been passed down for years. The people have suffered countless traumas including birth defects and miscarriages, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. Through interviews, literature reviews, documentaries, and other modes of anthropological discourse, we will be demonstrating how the Marshallese have been affected by the US Government Nuclear Testing Program, and how this may parallel to the detrimental health effects of the people living near the Hanford Facility in Eastern Washington. Given the severity of health problems and involuntary migration in the RMI, we argue that the US government should take more responsibility and initiative to ensure that the Marshallese are granted proper restitution for the irreparable damages these nuclear test operations have caused to them and their culture. By implementing codes of ethics as well as more access to healthcare, we believe the health and wellbeing of the Marshallese will begin to thrive once again.

The Hanford nuclear site is a 20th and 21st century example of America’s ongoing military industrial complex. Its ties with the aftermath of the Manhattan project shows that its harm was not unidirectional, but rather multidirectional since harm was done to the people of Nagasaki and to the communities within and around Hanford, Washington. Migrant workers have had ongoing misrepresentation regarding the nuclear site’s post-communal health impact; especially within oral and scholarly accounts. In this study, we explore what factors have had short-term and long-term impacts on the health, socioeconomic status, and autonomy of Hanford migrant workers. We use literature review and discourse analysis to understand these complexities affecting migrant health, and by developing these frameworks we reveal to the reader how such human and unalienable rights were undermined for the purpose of global control.

The construction of the Hanford Nuclear Site was to aid the production of the atom bomb for the United States in World War II. This led to an era of secrecy, especially for the Hanford workers. A whistleblower is someone that brings about safety concerns about nuclear production to the public, but only with the risk of losing their job. Recent trends have shown that there are major consequences to whistleblowing, as many in the past who whistleblowed lost their jobs. However, whistleblowing is crucial to sustain the safety and health of many workers. Our purpose is to identify the motivations of these workers for either speaking out against the program or staying silent. Through analyzing interviews, literature and discourse, we hypothesize that whistleblowers at Hanford spoke out when they felt their moral obligations outweighed any monetary or social gain. Because the government heavily suppressed the voices of workers, we wish to better understand how society fosters environments where people are comfortable to speak out as opposed to promoting an environment of secrecy.

With the discovery of radioactive materials, many institutions have conducted numerous radiation experiments in order to further understand the effects of radiation and radioactive contamination on human bodies and their environments. While doing so, there has been a great amount of unequal health disparities among the different communities involved. Institutions, like the University of Washington, while held in high regard, have participated in experiments that have affected the livelihood of many people. To this day, common knowledge of the University of Washington’s participation is still obscured. There are many institutions in the United States that are like UW and are known for their extensive and groundbreaking research; with the funding and power they hold, people often don’t question their research or their ethical approach to conducting it. From our research, we obtained a greater understanding of what occurred throughout the experiments - thus our goal is to bring attention to the actions of the University of Washington researchers’, C. Alvin Paulsen’s and Lauren R. Donaldson’s, unethical research practices in the Marshall Islands and UW Walla Walla Prison Radiation Experiments. Our methods include analyzation of interviews with Tom Carpenter - the Executive Director of Hanford Challenge, discourse analysis, reviews of relevant literature and interpretations of visual elements. Because the research of C. Alvin Paulsen and Lauren R. Donaldson is locked away in UW’s Special Collections Library, we were unable to analyze their research directly. We anticipate that this project will ensue more curiosity and lead to the general public learning more about the University of Washington’s participation in human radiation experiments.

There are countless times in the past where people have attempted to expose systematic injustices committed by the U.S. government. Despite the fact that Hanford was a critical site in producing plutonium for the atomic bombs dropped during World War II, the contamination and subsequent health disparities remain shrouded in mystery and present dangers to future generations. In this project, we explore how the Hanford facility and the release of radioactive waste impacted the culture and daily activities related to diet, health, and faith of indigenous peoples in Washington State, as well as efforts by the government and native tribes that have been made in regards to cleaning Hanford and protecting tribal lands. By comparing interviews of Native Americans affected by the Manhattan Project, their oral histories, literature, public speeches, and using website discourse analysis of governmental sites, we made several important observations. Through our research, we found that among the devastating results of the Hanford contamination, the most common theme was the upheaval and marginalization of indigenous culture and the resulting inability of Natives to take part in community building activities such as wild game hunting, fishing, spiritual ceremonies, and trade with neighboring tribes. Not only did contamination tarnish relationships that local natives had with each other and the land, but there was and remains a strong correlation between subsequent cancer-related health disparities and bioaccumulation in natural resources. Nuclear radiation resulting from the Manhattan Project is not an issue of the past; its effects are far-reaching and will continue to mutate the physical and cultural conditions of the Native American tribes who lived in the area, relied on its resources, and were biologically affected by the processes involved at Hanford.

Currently in Latin America, there are no nuclear weapons. In 1967, the Treaty of Tlatelolco was created and signed by Latin America and the Caribbean. This treaty prohibits the possession of nuclear weapons of any kind, making Latin America a non-nuclear weapon state. The research question I will be addressing is: Even though there are no nuclear weapons in Latin America, does nuclearism play a role in shaping its culture? As a native Spanish speaker, I am able to use my knowledge of the culture by using methods to analyze popular music, language and literature regarding nuclear weapons. I studied the lyrical and visual aspect of music to look for themes of the naturalization of nuclear weapons, as well as finding how language plays a role in its normalization. I analyzed literature in order to find commonality of nuclear cultures between nations that possess nuclear weapons and those that do not. My initial findings show that there is a strong presence of a nuclear culture existing in Latin America despite the fact that the region does not own nuclear weapons. Research also shows that nuclear culture is normalized through important themes such as gender and sexuality. Its normalization is often not obvious and is a part of daily life. These results were unexpected because I hypothesized for a nuclear culture to be nonexistent in a region that prohibits nuclear weapons. It is important to conduct further research on how nuclear weapons affect regions that are non-nuclear weapon states because it would create a broader understanding of the effects that nuclear weapons have on everyone and how it is a global issue that needs to be addressed. 

In the United States, the use of nuclear weapons is often associated with an era of scientific discovery which led to the security of the nation; yet there is another side to the nuclear era, one characterized by loss and irreversible consequences that is often overshadowed. One manner in which individuals connect to nuclear culture is through nuclear tourism: tourism centered around visiting sites associated with the nuclear age ranging from museums, to nuclear storage facilities, and even cities. I found myself intrigued with people’s obsession towards this dark area and wondered what laid beyond the tourism itself and how tourism affects society’s perceptions of nuclear weapons. I aimed to discover what side of the nuclear arms argument is being portrayed, and the potential implications, through analyzing the structure and advertising behind prominent tourist locations in the United States and Japan. After critically evaluating five nuclear tourism locations, it is clear that nuclear culture was largely portrayed with a sense of nationalistic pride which concurrently creates misconceptions about the use of nuclear weapons, numbing society to the humanity and suffering behind the machines. However, there were a few locations that painted the nuclear era in a different light; one that is truthful to the mass destruction and loss created by the nuclear era, sparking conversations that can lead to positive change. Overall, while nuclear tourism allows individuals to explore nuclear issues that face the world today, we must look beyond the technological contributions of the nuclear era and remember the humans whose lives were forever harmed as a result of using these weapons. It is critical to have avenues, such as tourism, to share knowledge about nuclearization that not only generate awareness but also work towards a world where nuclear weapons are simply a thing of the past.

Infection of the central nervous system (CNS) greatly contributes to and increases the risk of developing epilepsy. Individuals who present with seizure during a CNS infection are 22 times more likely to develop epilepsy in their lifetime than individuals who do not present with a seizure. Infection of mice with the Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) is a preclinical model that is useful to understand the mechanisms underlying acute seizures and the development of epilepsy following CNS infection. In the present study, we aimed to determine how diet sterilization (autoclaved versus irradiated) impacts the development of acute seizures and chronic behavioral comorbidities. We infected C57BL/6J mice with an intracerebral (i.c.) injection of TMEV or sterile saline, and then fed the mice either an autoclaved or irradiated diet. Next, we monitored the mice for the incidence of acute handling-induced seizures 3-7 days post-infection. Under both dietary conditions, mice developed handling-induced seizures in the acute infection phase. There were 8/13 (61%) irradiated diet fed mice that developed acute seizures whereas 9/13 (69%) autoclaved diet fed mice developed acute seizures during this period (p >0.05). We then assessed behavioral comorbidities associated with chronic epilepsy 4-5 weeks post-infection by evaluating anxiety-like behaviors in an open field test, working memory in a novel object recognition test, and electroconvulsive seizure thresholds. Mice fed an irradiated diet demonstrated preserved working memory function compared to mice fed the autoclaved diet, who demonstrated significant reductions in working memory and increased anxiety-like behavior, suggestive of worsened disease severity. At the conclusion of in-life testing, animals were euthanized, and tissues collected for histopathology and immunohistochemistry to assess the extent of TMEV-induced neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Our findings highlight the potential for the sterility of diet to modify disease severity in the TMEV model.