The expression of intestinal tight junction proteins induced by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-glycosides supplementation to reduce bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis lameness in broilers

Bacterial Chondronecrosis with Osteomyelitis (BCO) is a leading cause of lameness in broiler chickens, impacting animal welfare and commercial poultry production. Supplementation using organic trace minerals, vitamin D, probiotics, and prebiotics has been studied to mitigate BCO lameness incidences in broiler chickens. Our previous study demonstrated that feeding Panbonis®-G-1,25(OH)2D3 from Solanum glaucophyllum, containing 1 µg/kg G-1,25(OH)2D3, to broilers for the first 28 days of their production cycle reduced BCO lameness by approximately 50%. In this study, we investigated the impact of 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 supplementation on the expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins to further understand its mode of action in safeguarding birds from BCO disease. We measured the mRNA expression of claudins (CLDN1 and CLDN5), occludin (OCLDN), and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) in the epithelial barrier of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts at 14, 21, and 28 days post-hatch. RNA extraction was performed using the QIAGEN RNeasy Plus Mini Kit, and gene expression was analyzed with RT-qPCR for key TJ genes, with GAPDH serving as a housekeeping gene. Expression levels were quantified using the ΔΔCt method to assess differences between experimental and control groups. The results revealed a time-dependent pattern of TJ gene expression, with no and limited expression at days 14 and 21, respectively, and significant upregulation at day 28. T3 (1 µg/kg for 21 days) primarily influenced the gastrointestinal tract, while T4 (1 µg/kg for 28 days) had the strongest impact on the respiratory tract. Notably, CLDN1, OCLDN, and ZO-1 showed significant upregulation at day 28 in both the ileum and jejunum, whereas the trachea exhibited substantial changes only in response to T4 supplementation. These findings suggest that TJ protein activity is regulated developmentally and tissue-specifically, highlighting the potential role of gut and respiratory barrier integrity in BCO susceptibility. Understanding these molecular mechanisms contributes to developing targeted nutritional strategies to reduce lameness in broiler chickens and informs potential genetic markers for selective breeding programs

Gender, Politics, and Power: How Women Presidential Candidates are Framed by News Narratives

The aim of this study was to look at the coverage of the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024 during the Democratic National Convention, and analyze the differences in regard to gender, race, and political bias. The examination of these news narratives helps explore a question of whether journalists report with bias when covering politics. The researcher analyzed 11 published pieces from five mainstream media outlets. Findings of the study show that bias is unavoidable even when a journalist strives for objectivity which does not exist in newsrooms across the political spectrum. The findings are expected to support the narrative that journalism is continuously evolving, but cannot escape the systematic biases of gender and race when it comes to reporting on politics

Fractured Inheritance: Quantifying the Economic Impact of Heir’s Property on Arkansas Farmers

Heir’s property arises when the original owner still holds the title despite their passing, and ownership is distributed among their heirs. This was driven by barriers to retaining land ownership and access to legal support in predominantly African American populations in the early 20th century. This approach allowed land to remain in the original owner\u27s name while granting continued ownership to future generations without formal paperwork. Additionally, allowing limited land access, land management, and disparities in capital access compared to property with direct ownership rights. This analysis examines how modern heir’s property impacts agricultural returns. This study develops a conceptual model to analyze heirs’ property policies in Arkansas, including a detailed budget analysis of conventional rice and heirloom tomato enterprises. Budgets are separated into a full single owner and heirs to represent a formal operation and an Heir’s Property operation. This comparison illustrates the profitability disparities based on the legal formality used in land ownership. We find that heterogeneity in farm profitability relates to farm scale, access to capital, and policy implications of heir’s property. These results provide continued evidence for policy changes in support of mitigating the limitations of heir’s property in agricultural production

Survival Signature Estimation Using Optimization and Monte-Carlo Simulation for \u3ci\u3eK\u3c/i\u3e ≥ 3 Classes of Nodes on Two-Terminal Networks

This research develops an efficient approach to estimating survival signatures for two-terminal networks with more than two classes of components. Recently, the survival signature has gained substantial attention in the literature on network reliability estimation due to its unique separability property, which enables passing the network topology information independent of the failure distribution of the components. Following recent results from the literature, estimating the two-terminal survival signature by Monte Carlo simulation entails solving a multi-objective maximum capacity path problem on a two-terminal network in each replication. We adapt a multi-objective Dijkstra’s algorithm from the literature to construct the set of non-dominated paths solving the multi-objective maximum capacity path problem for each replication of the Monte-Carlo simulation. We have carried out experiments on random two-terminal networks and grid networks with three, four, and five classes of components. In these experiments, our version of the multi-objective Dijkstra’s algorithm was compared against four benchmark algorithms and an improvement technique that prunes some paths to be explored in the multi-objective Dijkstra’s algorithm setting lower bounds on capacities. We compared the run-time of our approach with all these benchmark approaches and found that the multi-objective Dijkstra’s algorithm performs significantly better in most instances

At The Table Together: Exploring Child Perception of Lunch Buddy Mentoring

Research suggests school-based mentoring is a promising strategy for helping children who experience school bullying and peer victimization. Lunch Buddy Mentoring (LBM) is a school-based mentoring program that places mentors in the lunchroom and has them sit with the mentee and peers at the lunch table. Research shows that LBM is positively perceived by both parents and teachers, but there is little research on the perceptions of LBM held by children at the lunch table. Negative perceptions of LBM by children who sit with the mentor could reduce its success by further isolating or victimizing children it aims to support and by raising concerns about LBM in the eyes of teachers and parents. This study assessed children’s perceptions of LBM via individual interviews conducted with 16 elementary-aged students, four who were mentees and twelve who were nearby lunch mates. Children were interviewed in the fall semester and again in the spring semester, and a total of 26 interviews were conducted. All interviews were transcribed and coded, and thematic analysis of these qualitative data interviews revealed four key themes: a) Positive Social Dynamic, including enjoyment and an improved lunchtime atmosphere, b) Communication and Interactions, with a focus on the integration of playful activities, c) Social Connection and Relationships, focusing on feelings of relatability and support, and d) Mentor Viewed Positively. These themes indicate a positive perception of LBM from the perspective of children seated at the lunch table