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Since Crohn’s disease is an autoimmune disease it can attack any system in the body including the enteric nervous system. Crohn’s disease causes inflammatory bowel syndrome which can cause excessive diarrhea and tissue injury due to gut inflammation. These symptoms are caused by prolonged hyperexcitability of enteric neurons caused by Crohn’s disease. When the gut is inflamed, there is breakdown of intestinal barrier function, abnormal secretion, changes in the patterns of motility, and visceral sensation, which contribute to symptoms like diarrhea, cramping, and pain. Enteric ganglia are what control all functions of the stomach and GI tract. Enteric ganglia are organized into two major ganglionated plexuses: the myenteric and submucosal plexus. They contain a variety  of functionally distinct neurons, including primary afferent neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons, synaptically linked to each other in microcircuits. Enteric neurons are known to control virtually all GI functions, including motility, secretion, blood flow, mucosal growth and aspects of the immune system. Interstitial Cells of Cajal play a major role in GI Tract function as pacemakers of smooth muscle contraction as well as stimulation of smooth muscle. This is a contributing factor to the dysmotility caused by Crohn’s disease. Secretomotor neurons also cause dysmotility by becoming hyperactive, leading to the impairment of the digestive organs. The increased activity of secretomotor neurons causes the increase in the secretion of Cl- ions, which in turn causes decreased absorption of sodium (hence the low levels of sodium ions in the blood tests of Crohn’s Disease patients).

The traps used will be a version of the pitfall trap described in Using Pitfall Traps to Monitor Insect Activity by Youngman et. al. The trap design is a cup firmly planted in a hole dug in the ground, with a second cup of the same rim width resting inside. In the interior cup, a small amount of ethanol will be placed to kill/preserve the specimens collected. Each team will set three traps at their chosen location, with each trap being at least twenty feet apart from the others.

However, despite considering infanticide to not be murder, Warren offers two reasons to explain why infanticide is not permissible in our society. First, Warren argues that just because parents do not want a newborn and would not suffer any loss if the newborn was the be killed, it is not right because there are others who would wish to adopt it. By killing the newborn, Warren argues, the potential adopters of the child are being deprived of their experience with the child and thus the act is wrong. Secondly, Warren argues that most people value infants and that they would work to preserve these children. Even if there is no one to adopt the child, the average person would be willing to pay taxes to support orphanages for the infants, rather than allow them to be killed. Warren continues by stating that if there are people who want these infants to be preserved and are willing and able to care for the infant, then it is wrong to kill them (Warren, 1).

What were the authors trying to test, and what predictions did they make?

The authors were testing the effects of two specific major barriers, a river and a road, on the endangered european wildcat. The two features represented both anthropogenic and natural landscape barriers that pose a threat to the wildcat. They predicted that if the dispersal of wildcat populations is limited by these two barriers, then the isolation would be reflected in the genome.

What, exactly, did the authors do?

    The authors investigated the genetic structure of wildcat populations separated by the Rhine River, and a major highway. Hair and tissue samples were collected over five years. Fourteen microsatellite loci were genotyped, and 188 individuals were studied. Questionnaires were also sent to forestry districts that queried regional distribution, habitat, sightings and tracks, roadkills, and behavior. Lure sticks were set up to obtain hair samples at varying distances from the highway and forest edge. Finally, DNA isolation, mitochondrial sequencing and microsatellite analysis were performed.

What did the authors find (i.e, what were their data)?

    Analysis from the program Structure showed that the individuals were likely configured into four clusters. One hybrid was found, and five individuals did not cluster into a group. Two genetic outliers were also found, and could not be assigned to a cluster. Both barriers were found to have consequences for dispersal of wildcats. However, the natural river was a strong barrier and had a greater effect than the highway. The river was a significant barrier to wildcats, but not a complete one. Evidence suggested that wildcats recently migrated across both the river and the highway. The isolation by distance was determined to be low, but significant.

How did the authors interpret their findings?

    The two genetic outliers were thought to be reintroduced wildcats from captivity. The data show that wildcats are capable of migrating across both the river and the highway. However, the structures are still capable of effectively isolating the populations, as migration is low. Wildcats are thought to have low dispersal, therefore increasing connectivity between their habitat is crucial for conservation of the species. The natural river served as a larger barrier to dispersal

Another rare neurological side effect of Crohn’s is the potential to develop cranial neuropathy, causing headaches, vision problems and other brain related issues. Researchers are unsure how Crohn’s leads to cranial neuropathy, but it could be due to the anti- TNF therapies causing brain lesions. It has brought up the debate of changing the recommended treatment if you develop any symptoms of cranial neuropathy.  New recent studies also seem to show that neurological symptoms are more common than originally thought, increasing the severity of this disease.

People with Crohn’s disease have trouble absorbing nutrients because the inflammation of the intestine makes it difficult for the organ to digest and absorb the nutrients from food. The patients low levels of sodium and potassium due to the lack of absorption could be what is causing her diminished sense of touch. Your nerves need a certain amount of potassium to control their function along with muscle function. Potassium and sodium help your nerves send electrical signals, via the sodium potassium pump, that are necessary for nervous system function. The patient's abnormal amounts of the two is causing irregular nerve function that is affecting her sense of touch and causing numbness.

Known for their hot climates and low precipitation, deserts are known to be one of the most difficult environments for any plants and animals to thrive in. However, different types of deserts are found throughout the world, all in the same 30° to 50° range from the equator. One of these variations is the semiarid desert. These deserts are primarily found in the western states of the United States, Europe and Northern Asia. Semiarid deserts have two seasons, summer and winter. Similar to the hot and dry deserts, the semiarid desert has an average temperature of 23° C during the summer, though it can reach to up to 38° C during the day and 10° C in the evening. During the winter, temperatures can reach as low as -3° C. Average rainfall is very low, at 2-4 cm a year. Although rainfall is minimal, dew accumulates on vegetation during the night which can equal and sometimes surpass the annual rainfall amount. The terrain is comprised of relatively flat land with large rocky mountains in the surrounding areas, the soil is composed of fine sand on the surface followed by loose rock beneath which lacks in vital nutrients needed to grow large vegetation such as trees, leaving vegetation to smaller trees, shrubs and well protected cacti, the shade from these used by the animals as protection from the scorching sun. With little vegetation to provide an abundance of food, animals are present but scares compared to the size of the land. Animals are relatively small such as lizards, snakes and small insects.

    Each of the eight teams will be assigned a location at different spots around the UMass campus. These spots are; next to the stream behind Sylvan dorms, next to the campus pond, in the woods across the street from Sylvan dorms, near the water tower by the top of Orchard Hill, near the pond next to lot 44, next to Mill River in a wooded area, next to Mill River close to the road, and in the garden outside of Franklin Dining Hall. Each team will use “Google Maps” to get the latitude and longitude of the specific spot they choose.

The gas chromatography (GC), which measures purity, confirmed that the sample was not 100% pure because there were two peaks, of 0.663 (36.74%) and 1.084 (63.25%). Had it been pure cyclohexene there would have only been one peak. The bromine and potassium permanganate chemical tests were performed to distinguish the alkenes from alkanes. When bromine in dichloromethane was added to the cyclohexene product the solution did not change color. There was, however, a color change with cyclohexane. With each drop the solution went from light orange to brown. When potassium permanganate was added to cyclohexene the solution turned dark purple and became increasingly darker with each drop. The potassium permanganate formed two layers when added to the cyclohexane with the purple layer on top and clear layer on the bottom. Once again, the percent yield recovered through this experiment was 49.9%. This value could be due to not collecting all of the drops when transferring test tubes or not leaving enough time for the solution to dry after adding the CaCl2 pellets.