Benzalkonium Chlorides (BACs) are widely used as an antimicrobial disinfectant in a variety of food and consumer goods processing. Exposure to BACs has increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. BACs have been reported in common foods like fruits, milk, and other dairy products, raising concerns about the impact of BACs on human health via oral exposure. Recent work in our lab has reported that BACs are metabolized by cytochrome P450 (CYPs) 4Fs and 2D6 in the liver. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding how BACs and BAC metabolites are distributed throughout the body, post-oral exposure. We hypothesize that insight into BAC disposition and distribution following an oral exposure route could lead to valuable knowledge of BAC accumulation and subsequent toxicity. In this study, we exposed male and female C57BL/6 mice to deuterated C12- and C16-BACs at 120 μg/g/day for one week via a gel food diet. We harvested liver, lung, heart, spleen, and intestinal section tissues at the end of the study, as well as fecal samples at two time points, and a singular urine time point. Through a targeted BAC and BAC metabolite quantitation analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we found omega-oxidation of the alkyl chain to carboxylic acid followed by beta-oxidation to be a major route of metabolism. Additionally, we found that the liver and big intestine had a higher metabolizing capacity than other tissues and the C16 BACs were preferentially metabolized compared to the C12 BACs. This work provided a deeper look into the disposition and metabolism of BACs and revealed organs that are susceptible to BAC exposure for future studies

In the period of 1996-2000, within the greater context of the Peruvian internal conflict, a forced sterilization regime affected over 300,000 people, the majority of which were indigenous women. The program operated under the guise of promoting maternal healthcare within indigenous and impoverished communities and went largely unnoticed by the greater public both internationally and within Peru. The Quipu project (2017) was established as a way to reconcile with the notion that such sterilizations were left out of the state funded truth and reconciliation process. The project's unique transmedia approach created a database led by women who were forcibly sterilized, allowing them to simply call a telephone line that would record their stories and publish directly on a website. This truth telling and testimonial regime is remarkable in several ways as an approach for truth and reconciliation, in that its approach specifically mimics cosmological and community networks in a digital realm. This study posits that Andean women engage with the Quipu Project’s truth-telling regime to reclaim their identities as indigenous women, mothers, and community members as was disrupted by sterilization. Through a rhetorical examination of testimonials, I analyze the impact of sterilization and subsequent involvement in the project on community relationships, identity, spiritual beliefs, and calls for justice. Additionally, through first-hand interviews with Quipu Project researchers, I draw specific insights into the development of the project. This research develops a vital understanding of testimonial processes in the face of traumatic events, especially in the context of failed statewide policies and reconciliation efforts.