A summer course in cancer for high school students-an update on lessons taught and lessons learned.

Background: Previous graduate students and postdoctoral associates from the University of Florida Health Cancer Center, in partnership with the University of Florida Student Science Training Program, implemented a cooperative learning curriculum, providing high school students with a broad overview of cancer topics over six weeks over the summer. To address discussions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic on student autonomy, we report lessons learned and outcomes of a cancer biology and therapeutic curriculum modified for a collaborative learning environment.

Methods: This pre-post longitudinal observational study conducted in 2023 on a cancer biology and therapeutics course evaluated students' knowledge retention and general awareness and opinions in cancer research.

A Summer Course in Cancer for High School Students - An Update on Lessons Taught and Lessons Learned.

Background: Previous graduate students and postdoctoral associates from the University of Florida Health Cancer Center, in partnership with the University of Florida Student Science Training Program, implemented a cooperative learning curriculum, providing high school students with a broad overview of cancer topics over six weeks over the summer. However, the ongoing shift in education and training delivery initially necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to many discussions surrounding student autonomy and satisfaction. Furthermore, adapting hybrid and distance learning styles has notably influenced student-led collaboration and critical thinking skills.

Neural correlates of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in the posterior cerebellar cortex.

Introduction: Addictive drugs are potent neuropharmacological agents capable of inducing long-lasting changes in learning and memory neurocircuitry. With repeated use, contexts and cues associated with consumption can acquire motivational and reinforcing properties of abused drugs, triggering drug craving and relapse. Neuroplasticity underlying drug-induced memories takes place in prefrontal-limbic-striatal networks.

Immunotherapy reverses glioma-driven dysfunction of immune system homeostasis.

Background: Glioma-induced immune dysregulation of the hematopoietic system has been described in a limited number of studies. In this study, our group further demonstrates that gliomas interrupt the cellular differentiation programming and outcomes of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in the bone marrow. HSPCs from glioma-bearing mice are reprogrammed and driven towards expansion of myeloid lineage precursors and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in secondary lymphoid organs.

Effects of naltrexone on alcohol, sucrose, and saccharin binge-like drinking in C57BL/6J mice: a study with a multiple bottle choice procedure.

Chronic alcohol (ethyl alcohol, EtOH) binging has been associated with long-term neural adaptations that lead to the development of addiction. Many of the neurobiological features of EtOH abuse are shared with other forms of binging, like pathological feeding. The drinking-in-the-dark (DID) paradigm has been used extensively to study the neurobiology of EtOH binge-like drinking due to its ability to promote high intakes relevant to human behavior.

Alcohol Binge Drinking and Anxiety-Like Behavior in Socialized Versus Isolated C57BL/6J Mice.

Background: Binge alcohol drinking has been characterized as a key feature of alcoholism. The drinking-in-the-dark (DID) preclinical model, a procedure that promotes high levels of ethanol (EtOH) intake in short periods of time, has been extensively used to investigate neuropharmacological and genetic determinants of binge-like EtOH consumption. Using DID methodology, alcohol-preferring strains of mice such as C57BL/6J (B6) mice consume enough EtOH to achieve blood concentrations (≥1.

Drug-free and context-dependent locomotor hyperactivity in DBA/2 J mice previously treated with repeated cocaine: Relationship with behavioral sensitization and role of noradrenergic receptors.

Drug-associated contexts and discrete cues can trigger motivational states responsible for drug-seeking behavior and relapse. In preclinical research, drug-free conditioned hyperactivity has been used to investigate the expression of memories associated with psychostimulant drug effects. Addictive drugs can produce long-lasting sensitization to their psychomotor actions, a phenomenon known as behavioral sensitization.

Naloxone effects on extinction of ethanol- and cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in mice.

Rationale: Previous studies found that naloxone (NLX) facilitated choice extinction of ethanol conditioned place preference (CPP) using long (60 min) test sessions, but there is little information on the variables determining this effect.

Objectives: These studies examined repeated exposure to NLX during extinction of ethanol- or cocaine-induced CPP using both short and long tests.

Methods: DBA/2J mice were injected with NLX (0 or 10 mg/kg) before three 10- or 60-min choice extinction tests (experiment 1).

Identification of the geographical place of origin of an unidentified individual by multi-isotope analysis.

A multi-isotope investigation (Sr and Pb isotopes and δ18O, δ13C and δ15N) was applied to bone and teeth from an unidentified male found drowned in the"IJ" Ruyterkade in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in March of 1999. The individual remained unidentified until mid 2013, after the isotope study was completed. Coupled δ13C and δ15N values in bone collagen recovered from rib and femur are consistent with an omnivore living in a region where C3-type diet dominates (i.

Provenancing of unidentified World War II casualties: Application of strontium and oxygen isotope analysis in tooth enamel.

In 2010 and 2012 two sets of unidentified human remains of two World War II soldiers were recovered in the area where the 1944-1945 Kapelsche Veer bridgehead battle took place in The Netherlands. Soldiers of four Allied nations: British Royal Marine Commandos, Free Norwegian Commandos, Free Poles and Canadians, fought against the German Army in this battle. The identification of these two casualties could not be achieved using dental record information of DNA analysis.

Identifying the African wintering grounds of hybrid flycatchers using a multi-isotope (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N) assignment approach.

Migratory routes and wintering grounds can have important fitness consequences, which can lead to divergent selection on populations or taxa differing in their migratory itinerary. Collared (Ficedula albicollis) and pied (F. hypoleuca) flycatchers breeding in Europe and wintering in different sub-Saharan regions have distinct migratory routes on the eastern and western sides of the Sahara desert, respectively.

Involvement of the endogenous opioid system in the psychopharmacological actions of ethanol: the role of acetaldehyde.

Significant evidence implicates the endogenous opioid system (EOS) (opioid peptides and receptors) in the mechanisms underlying the psychopharmacological effects of ethanol. Ethanol modulates opioidergic signaling and function at different levels, including biosynthesis, release, and degradation of opioid peptides, as well as binding of endogenous ligands to opioid receptors. The role of β-endorphin and µ-opioid receptors (OR) have been suggested to be of particular importance in mediating some of the behavioral effects of ethanol, including psychomotor stimulation and sensitization, consumption and conditioned place preference (CPP).

Modulation of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference in mice by 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole and D-penicillamine depends on ethanol dose and number of conditioning trials.

Previous studies have shown that both 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (AT), which inhibits metabolism of ethanol (EtOH) to acetaldehyde by inhibiting catalase, and D-penicillamine (D-P), an acetaldehyde-sequestering agent, modulate EtOH-conditioned place preference (CPP) in male albino Swiss (IOPS Orl) mice. These studies followed a reference-dose-like procedure, which involves comparing cues that have both been paired with EtOH. However, the role of EtOH-derived acetaldehyde has not been examined using a standard CPP method, and efficacy of these treatments could be different under the two circumstances.

Post-retrieval propranolol treatment does not modulate reconsolidation or extinction of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference.

The reconsolidation hypothesis posits that established emotional memories, when reactivated, become labile and susceptible to disruption. Post-retrieval injection of propranolol (PRO), a nonspecific β-adrenergic receptor antagonist, impairs subsequent retention performance of a cocaine- and a morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP), implicating the noradrenergic system in the reconsolidation processes of drug-seeking behavior. An important question is whether post-retrieval PRO disrupts memory for the drug-cue associations, or instead interferes with extinction.

The H2O2 scavenger ebselen decreases ethanol-induced locomotor stimulation in mice.

Background: In the brain, the enzyme catalase by reacting with H(2)O(2) forms Compound I (catalase-H(2)O(2) system), which is the main system of central ethanol metabolism to acetaldehyde. Previous research has demonstrated that acetaldehyde derived from central-ethanol metabolism mediates some of the psychopharmacological effects produced by ethanol. Manipulations that modulate central catalase activity or sequester acetaldehyde after ethanol administration modify the stimulant effects induced by ethanol in mice.

Involvement of the beta-endorphin neurons of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus in ethanol-induced place preference conditioning in mice.

Background: Increasing evidence indicates that mu- and delta-opioid receptors are decisively involved in the retrieval of memories underlying conditioned effects of ethanol. The precise mechanism by which these receptors participate in such effects remains unclear. Given the important role of the proopiomelanocortin (POMc)-derived opioid peptide beta-endorphin, an endogenous mu- and delta-opioid receptor agonist, in some of the behavioral effects of ethanol, we hypothesized that beta-endorphin would also be involved in ethanol conditioning.

Differential actions of adenosine A1 and A2A antagonists on the effort-related effects of dopamine D2 antagonism.

Adenosine and dopamine receptors in striatal areas interact to regulate a number of different functions, including aspects of motor control and motivation. Recent studies indicate that adenosine A(2A) receptor antagonists can reverse the effects of dopamine (DA) D(2) antagonists on instrumental tasks that provide measures of effort-related choice behavior. The present experiments compared the ability of the adenosine A(2A) antagonist KW6002, the nonselective adenosine antagonist caffeine, and the adenosine A(1) receptor selective antagonist DPCPX, to reverse the behavioral effects of the DA D(2) antagonist haloperidol.

Dopamine/adenosine interactions related to locomotion and tremor in animal models: possible relevance to parkinsonism.

Adenosine A(2A) antagonists can exert antiparkinsonian effects in animal models. Recent experiments studied the ability of MSX-3 (an adenosine A(2A) antagonist) to reverse the locomotor suppression and tremor produced by dopamine antagonists in rats. MSX-3 reversed haloperidol-induced suppression of locomotion, and reduced the tremulous jaw movements induced by haloperidol, pimozide, and reserpine.

Is there a major role for adenosine A2A receptors in anxiety?

Clinical investigations, pharmacological studies and models of genetically modified rodents have implicated adenosine in the etiology and modulation of different types of anxiety. Caffeine, a non-selective adenosine antagonist, has been involved in many of them. Adenosine seems to interact with other neurotransmitter systems and with some substances like alcohol, which elevate the basal levels of adenosine.

Tremorolytic effects of adenosine A2A antagonists: implications for parkinsonism.

Drug-induced tremulous jaw movements in rats have been used as a model of parkinsonian tremor. Because adenosine A2A antagonists have antiparkinsonian effects, the present experiments were conducted to study the ability of adenosine A2A antagonism to reverse the tremulous jaw movements produced by the antipsychotic drugs pimozide, haloperidol and reserpine. In one group of studies, rats received daily injections of the dopamine antagonist pimozide, and on day 8 they received injections of pimozide plus various doses of the A2A antagonists KW 6002 or MSX-3.

Intra-accumbens injections of the adenosine A2A agonist CGS 21680 affect effort-related choice behavior in rats.

Rationale: Nucleus accumbens dopamine (DA) participates in the modulation of instrumental behavior, including aspects of behavioral activation and effort-related choice behavior. Rats with impaired accumbens DA transmission reallocate their behavior away from food-reinforced activities that have high response requirements and instead select less-effortful types of food-seeking behavior. Although accumbens DA is considered a critical component of the brain circuitry regulating effort-related processes, emerging evidence also implicates adenosine A(2A) receptors.

Involvement of brain catalase activity in the acquisition of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference.

It has been suggested that some of the behavioral effects produced by ethanol are mediated by its first metabolite, acetaldehyde. The present research addressed the hypothesis that catalase-dependent metabolism of ethanol to acetaldehyde in the brain is an important step in the production of ethanol-related affective properties. Firstly, we investigated the contribution of brain catalase in the acquisition of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference (CPP).

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry determination of (4S,2RS)-2,5,5-trimethylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid, a stable adduct formed between D-(-)-penicillamine and acetaldehyde (main biological metabolite of ethanol), in plasma, liver and brain rat tissues.

Acetaldehyde, the main biological metabolite of ethanol, is nowadays considered to mediate some ethanol-induced effects. Previous studies on alcohol effect attenuation have shown that D-(-)-penicillamine (3-mercapto-D-valine), a thiol amino acid, acts as an effective agent for the inactivation of acetaldehyde. In the study reported here, laboratory rats were treated with ethanol and D-(-)-penicillamine at different doses looking for the interaction (in vivo) of D-(-)-penicillamine with metabolically formed acetaldehyde following a condensation reaction to form the stable adduct (4S,2RS)-2,5,5-trimethylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid (TMTCA).

Voluntary ethanol consumption decreases after the inactivation of central acetaldehyde by d-penicillamine.

Acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, may mediate some ethanol-induced effects. Previous research in our laboratory has shown that D-penicillamine, an inactivation agent for acetaldehyde, is effective in decreasing locomotor stimulation and conditioned place preference induced by ethanol in mice. In the present study, the effects of D-penicillamine on the voluntary consumption of ethanol were assessed.