Metabolic and Morphologic Shifts in Neuro2a Cells Cultured in Galactose Medium

It has been observed that highly-proliferating cells, such as cancer cells, rely mainly on glycolysis for ATP production, regardless of presence of oxygen. This effect, however, can be reversed by changing the main energy substrate in the medium from glucose to galactose. The oxidation of galactose in glycolysis yields less net ATP, presumably forcing the cell into OXPHOS. This has been established in many cell lines, including HeLA, HepG2, and skeletal muscle cells. As of yet, this has not been reproduced in neuronal cells. Using Neuro2a, a murine neuroblastoma cell line, this study exposes neuronal cells to galactose medium, and measures effect on neurite outgrowth, cell proliferation, and other indicators of metabolic function. An increase in neurite length and overall growth was observed in galactose-grown cells, as was an increase in doubling time (n = 3, p \u3c .05). Oxygen consumption shows an increase of 20% in galactose grown cells (n=5-10, p \u3c .05). Mitochondrial protein shows an increase in galactose-grown cells (n=3, p \u3c .05)

Shock Value of False Confessions: Gender Differences in Interrogative Suggestibility, as They Pertain to the Elicitation of False Confessions

Confessions may be one of the most powerful weapons a prosecutor could be handed in the courtroom. In fact, jurors almost always convict defendants that have confessed. (Costanzo & Krauss, 2012). However, the importance placed upon confessions has been questioned. According to Appleby et al.\u27s (2011) empirical analysis on confessions Although confessions from perpetrators help to solve crimes in an efficient manner, the false confessions of innocents are a known contributing factor in approximately 25% of all DNA exoneration cases. Many factors contribute to this, including certain interrogation techniques, extreme pressure and distress, the presence of leading questions, and age and intelligence of the accused. Another factor that has been examined is the suggestibility of the accused. The higher the level of suggestibility of a person, the more likely they are to take responsibility for something that he or she did not do (Redlich & Goodman, 2003). There has also been evidence to suggest that there may be gender differences in suggestibility, though the research in this area is limited (Calicchia & Santostefano, 2004). The purpose of this study is to further examine the possibility of gender differences in suggestibility and how this may relate to false confessions. There were 39 participants, 17 M and 22 F. Each participant was led to believe that s/he was having his/her heart rate monitored by another participant, a confederate, while they are administered the suggestibility scale. The participant will then switch places with the confederate and attempt to monitor his/her heart rate. The participant will then be led to believe that s/he pushed a wrong button and slightly shocked the other person. The participant will then be asked to sign a form stating that s/he did indeed press the button, and then afterwards fill out a scale reporting how much he/she believes the confession is true. Suggestibility scores will be recorded, as will whether or not the person confessed , and the self-reported level of belief. It is hypothesized that females will be significantly more likely to falsely confess, and that suggestibility will indeed play a part in the gender differences

Modulation of cellular energetics by galactose and pioglitazone.

The Warburg effect is ameliorated by culturing transformed cells in the presence of galactose instead of glucose as the primary carbon source. However, metabolic consequences that are in addition to sensitizing the cells to mitochondrial toxins may occur. As such, the screening of pharmaceutical agents against transformed cells while using galactose must be carefully evaluated. Pioglitazone is used in clinical applications to treat type-2 diabetes, but clearly has other off target effects. Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) were cultured in glucose or galactosecontaining medium to investigate the role of pioglitazone on cellular bioenergetics employing calorimetry and respirometry. Compared to cells cultured in 10 mM glucose, HepG2 cells cultured in the presence of 10 mM galactose showed decreased metabolic activity as measured by cellular heat flow. Interestingly, cellular heat flow increased after addition of pioglitazone for cells cultured in glucose, but not for cells cultured in galactose. Our calorimetric data indicate that a reduction in cellular capacity for glycolysis might be the mechanism responsible for the increase in sensitivity to pioglitazone, and likely mitochondrial toxins in general, for cells cultured in galactose. Furthermore, oxygen consumption rates were decreased after addition of pioglitazone to cells grown in glucose, but remained unchanged for cells grown in presence of galactose. Taken together, we demonstrate that pioglitazone induced a reduction in mitochondrial activity that was partially compensated via an increase in glycolysis in the presence of glucose

The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on <i>Rattus</i> species compositions and competition

While the impacts of black (Rattus rattus) and brown (Rattus norvegicus) rats on human society are well documented—including the spread of disease, broad-scale environmental destruction, and billions spent annually on animal control—little is known about their ecology and behavior in urban areas due to the challenges of studying animals in city environments. We use isotopic and ZooMS analysis of archaeological (1550s–1900 CE) rat remains from eastern North America to provide a large-scale framework for species arrival, interspecific competition, and dietary ecology. Brown rats arrived earlier than expected and rapidly outcompeted black rats in coastal urban areas. This replacement happened despite evidence that the two species occupy different trophic positions. Findings include the earliest molecularly confirmed brown rat in the Americas and show a deep ecological structure to how rats exploit human-structured areas, with implications for understanding urban zoonosis, rat management, and ecosystem planning as well as broader themes of rat dispersal, phylogeny, evolutionary ecology, and climate impacts

Large loss of CO2 in winter observed across the northern permafrost region.

Recent warming in the Arctic, which has been amplified during the winter1-3, greatly enhances microbial decomposition of soil organic matter and subsequent release of carbon dioxide (CO2)4. However, the amount of CO2 released in winter is highly uncertain and has not been well represented by ecosystem models or by empirically-based estimates5,6. Here we synthesize regional in situ observations of CO2 flux from arctic and boreal soils to assess current and future winter carbon losses from the northern permafrost domain. We estimate a contemporary loss of 1662 Tg C yr-1 from the permafrost region during the winter season (October through April). This loss is greater than the average growing season carbon uptake for this region estimated from process models (-1032 Tg C yr-1). Extending model predictions to warmer conditions in 2100 indicates that winter CO2 emissions will increase 17% under a moderate mitigation scenario-Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5-and 41% under business-as-usual emissions scenario-RCP 8.5. Our results provide a new baseline for winter CO2 emissions from northern terrestrial regions and indicate that enhanced soil CO2 loss due to winter warming may offset growing season carbon uptake under future climatic conditions

Large loss of CO₂ in winter observed across the northern permafrost region

Recent warming in the Arctic, which has been amplified during the winter, greatly enhances microbial decomposition of soil organic matter and subsequent release of carbon dioxide (CO2). However, the amount of CO2 released in winter is not known and has not been well represented by ecosystem models or empirically based estimates. Here we synthesize regional in situ observations of CO2 flux from Arctic and boreal soils to assess current and future winter carbon losses from the northern permafrost domain. We estimate a contemporary loss of 1,662 TgC per year from the permafrost region during the winter season (October–April). This loss is greater than the average growing season carbon uptake for this region estimated from process models (−1,032 TgC per year). Extending model predictions to warmer conditions up to 2100 indicates that winter CO2 emissions will increase 17% under a moderate mitigation scenario—Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5—and 41% under business-as-usual emissions scenario—Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5. Our results provide a baseline for winter CO2 emissions from northern terrestrial regions and indicate that enhanced soil CO2 loss due to winter warming may offset growing season carbon uptake under future climatic conditions