Investigating Exoneration Patterns Among Juveniles

Exoneration from crime has been studied among adults, but exoneration of juveniles (i.e., persons under age 18) has not been analyzed as a separate entity, despite distinct legal systems and developmental considerations. Wrongful conviction, while not always indicative of innocence, devastates lives of convicted individuals and their families, while increasing public mistrust and sometimes failing to convict truly guilty individuals. This devastation, as well as vulnerability to wrongful conviction, is significantly increased for youth who miss out on crucial developmental years, milestones, and opportunities. In the current study, I examined differing and intersecting contributors (i.e., individual characteristics, crime characteristics, legal system processes) associated with juvenile exoneration. My sample, retrieved in August of 2023 from the National Registry of Exonerations (NRE, 2023b), included 293 juvenile exonerees. Interesting findings regarding sentence length emerged, with significant associations with age and race. Older exonerees and Black and other racially minoritized exonerees typically received lengthier sentences. Future research analyzing sentencing decisions is warranted to promote equitable treatment of all navigating legal systems. Similarly, Black exonerees were more likely to experience mistaken witness identification, which is in line with previous research. Contrary to prediction on false confessions, 17-year-old exonerees were more likely to falsely confess than younger counterparts, raising questions about what factors make youth more susceptible to falsely confess in real-world settings. Additionally, interesting findings emerged for time before exoneration, with violent crimes tending to endure longer periods before exoneration than sexual and other non-violent crimes. Considerations related to exoneration and crime type are discussed. Geographic location was also analyzed, and US regions were significantly associated with time before exoneration, official misconduct, and false confessions. Interestingly, the Northeast and Midwest regions tended to be associated with more negative outcomes (i.e., longer time before exoneration, more official misconduct, more false confessions). Official misconduct was further analyzed, with significant relationships between crime type and witness tampering, crime type and interrogation misconduct, age and interrogation misconduct, crime type and prosecutorial misconduct, and age and prosecutorial misconduct. Discussion on these relationships with official misconduct are included, as well as implications for future research

Energy Intake at the Intersection of the Clock and Ageing

Calorie restriction and timed dietary intake are two approaches known to increase lifespan or delay age-associated diseases. New studies reveal the importance of the ‘how much’ and ‘when’ of dietary intake in ageing modulation and collectively demonstrate how protection of the internal clock by diet can delay the ageing process

Temporal and Spatial Metabolite Dynamics Impart Control in Adipogenesis

The process of adipogenesis is critical for forming new, healthy adipocytes that are capable of storing lipids. In this issue, Sánchez-Ramírez and Ung et al. (2022. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202111137) reveal a novel role for the metabolite nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in controlling differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells into adipocytes

Circadian Oscillations within the Hippocampus Support Memory Formation and Persistence

The ability to sustain memories over long periods of time, sometimes even a lifetime, is one of the most remarkable properties of the brain. Much knowledge has been gained over the past few decades regarding the molecular correlates of memory formation. Once a memory is forged, however, the molecular events that provide permanence are as of yet unclear. Studies in multiple organisms have revealed that circadian rhythmicity is important for the formation, stability, and recall of memories (Gerstner et al., 2009).The neuronal events that provide this link need to be explored further. This article will discuss the findings related to the circadian regulation of memory-dependent processes in the hippocampus. Specifically, the circadian-controlled mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and cAMP signal transduction pathway plays critical roles in the consolidation of hippocampus-dependent memory. A series of studies have revealed the circadian oscillation of this pathway within the hippocampus, an activity that is absent in memory-deficient, transgenic mice lacking Ca2+-stimulated adenylyl cyclases. Interference with these oscillations proceeding the cellular memory consolidation period impairs the persistence of hippocampus-dependent memory. These data suggest that the persistence of long-term memories may depend upon reactivation of this signal transduction pathway in the hippocampus during the circadian cycle. New data reveals the dependence of hippocampal oscillation in MAPK activity on the suprachiasmatic nucleus, again underscoring the importance of this region in maintaining the circadian physiology of memory. Finally, the downstream ramification of these oscillations in terms of gene expression and epigenetics should be considered, as emerging evidence is pointing strongly to a circadian link between epigenetics and long-term synaptic plasticity

Circadian Rhythms As Modulators of Brain Health During Development and Throughout Aging

The circadian clock plays a prominent role in neurons during development and throughout aging. This review covers topics pertinent to the role of 24-h rhythms in neuronal development and function, and their tendency to decline with aging. Pharmacological or behavioral modification that augment the function of our internal clock may be central to decline of cognitive disease and to future chronotherapy for aging-related diseases of the central nervous system

p75 neurotrophin receptor is a clock gene that regulates oscillatory components of circadian and metabolic networks.

The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily with a widespread pattern of expression in tissues such as the brain, liver, lung, and muscle. The mechanisms that regulate p75(NTR) transcription in the nervous system and its expression in other tissues remain largely unknown. Here we show that p75(NTR) is an oscillating gene regulated by the helix-loop-helix transcription factors CLOCK and BMAL1. The p75(NTR) promoter contains evolutionarily conserved noncanonical E-box enhancers. Deletion mutagenesis of the p75(NTR)-luciferase reporter identified the -1039 conserved E-box necessary for the regulation of p75(NTR) by CLOCK and BMAL1. Accordingly, gel-shift assays confirmed the binding of CLOCK and BMAL1 to the p75(NTR-)1039 E-box. Studies in mice revealed that p75(NTR) transcription oscillates during dark and light cycles not only in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), but also in peripheral tissues including the liver. Oscillation of p75(NTR) is disrupted in Clock-deficient and mutant mice, is E-box dependent, and is in phase with clock genes, such as Per1 and Per2. Intriguingly, p75(NTR) is required for circadian clock oscillation, since loss of p75(NTR) alters the circadian oscillation of clock genes in the SCN, liver, and fibroblasts. Consistent with this, Per2::Luc/p75(NTR-/-) liver explants showed reduced circadian oscillation amplitude compared with those of Per2::Luc/p75(NTR+/+). Moreover, deletion of p75(NTR) also alters the circadian oscillation of glucose and lipid homeostasis genes. Overall, our findings reveal that the transcriptional activation of p75(NTR) is under circadian regulation in the nervous system and peripheral tissues, and plays an important role in the maintenance of clock and metabolic gene oscillation

Mechanisms and Metabolic Consequences of Adipocyte Progenitor Replicative Senescence

In recent decades, obesity has become a worldwide epidemic. As a result, the importance of adipose tissue (AT) as a metabolically active storage depot for lipids and a key mediator of body-wide metabolism and energy balance has been increasingly recognized. Emerging from the studies of AT in metabolic disease is a recognition of the importance of the adipocyte progenitor cell (APC) population of AT being the gatekeeper of adipocyte function. APCs have the capability to self-renew and undergo adipogenesis to propagate new adipocytes capable of lipid storage, which is important for maintaining a healthy fat pad, devoid of dysfunctional lipid droplet hypertrophy, inflammation, and fibrosis, which is linked to metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Like other dividing cells, APCs are at risk for undergoing cell senescence, a state of irreversible cell proliferation arrest that occurs under a variety of stress conditions, including DNA damage and telomere attrition. APC proliferation is controlled by a variety of factors, including paracrine and endocrine factors, quality and timing of energy intake, and the circadian clock system. Therefore, alteration in any of the underlying signaling pathways resulting in excessive proliferation of APCs can lead to premature APC senescence. Better understanding of APCs senescence mechanisms will lead to new interventions extending metabolic health

Is Retention Enough? Learning and Satisfaction of First-Generation College Seniors

Progress has been made in retaining and graduating traditional-age first-generation college students at four-year institutions. First-generation students, however, often experience college differently because of external factors, which can negatively influence their learning experience and overall satisfaction. This study explored learning and satisfaction measures of seniors at a small private university in the Midwest. Using Astin’s I-E-O model (1970), the following variables were considered: precollege student characteristics (input); academic engagement, co-curricular activities, campus relationships (environment); and satisfaction, learning (outcome). The sample consisted of seniors participating in NSSE and/or ETS MAPP (n=342). Findings confirmed that first-generation students typically worked more for pay, commuted, and had greater financial need. Results of the analysis of learning and satisfaction however, indicated no difference between the two groups (