Tissue expression of claudin-1 and claudin-2 tight junction proteins in chickens

Understanding gut homeostasis is an active area of research in livestock animals, as it is key to improving animal health and efficiency. Tight junction proteins are responsible for preventing the transport of foreign materials and microorganisms between cells in epithelial and endothelial tissue layers while also regulating the passage of water and ions. Their location and function within these protective barrier tissues suggest that tight junction proteins play a significant role in the tissue integrity and innate immunity of the host. The purpose of this study is to examine the expression patterns of mRNAs for different tight junction proteins in various tissues of broiler chickens. Tissue samples were collected from four 30-day old, healthy broiler chickens raised under standard care. Total RNA was isolated, reverse transcribed, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to measure the mRNA expressions of two major tight junction proteins, namely claudin-1 and claudin-2, in the skin, brain, lung, and various segments of the digestive tract. Fold differences among tissue types was calculated using the Ct method normalized to the expression of a house-keeping gene, GAPDH. Our results indicated that claudin-1 mRNA was abundant in the skin, lung, spleen, and pancreas, with approximately 250-, 300-, 200-, and 150-fold higher than the brain, respectively. Meanwhile, claudin-2 mRNA was highly expressed in the duodenum, spleen, and pancreas, showing approximately 900-, 650-, and 700-fold higher than the brain, respectively. Understanding the tissue expression patterns of major tight junction proteins represent an important first step in identifying the strategies to modulate their expression in the intestinal tract, thereby improving gut health, immunity, and production efficiency of chickens

Training Employees to Stay: T&D in Retaining Talent

The employee-driven market and “war for talent” demand organizations be increasingly competitive in maintaining the best workforce possible. Furthermore, factors such as millennial “job hopping,” employees leaving because of fears of layoffs and downsizing, and exiting the company without documenting valuable knowledge are all reasons to seek methods to decrease turnover. Organizations can use strategic and evidence-based training and development (T&D) practices to retain talent and prevent the loss of institutional knowledge. This session will discuss how T&D can be used to reduce involuntary turnover in organizations and cover how self-paced training, error management training (EMT), and the use of feedback and self-assessments can be used to enhance training outcomes. Ways that these T&D designs and methods may apply to millennials and tenured employees to best reduce turnover and prevent the loss of institutional knowledge will also be covered. By understanding the connections between T&D and the varied workforce, employers can have an the advantage in the ongoing “war for talent.” During this session, you will learn: - About evidence-based practices and how evidence-based T&D can improve employee retention. - How self-paced training, error management training, and feedback and assessment improve training outcomes. - Why different employees respond to different T&D techniques and which T&D methods to use with various employee groups

Generalization and discrimination of inhibitory avoidance differentially engage anterior and posterior retrosplenial subregions

IntroductionIn a variety of behavioral procedures animals will show selective fear responding in shock-associated contexts, but not in other contexts. However, several factors can lead to generalized fear behavior, where responding is no longer constrained to the conditioning context and will transfer to novel contexts.MethodsHere, we assessed memory generalization using an inhibitory avoidance paradigm to determine if generalized avoidance behavior engages the retrosplenial cortex (RSC). Male and female Long Evans rats received inhibitory avoidance training prior to testing in the same context or a shifted context in two distinct rooms; one room that had fluorescent lighting (Light) and one that had red LED lighting (Dark).ResultsWe found that animals tested in a light context maintained context-specificity; animals tested in the same context as training showed longer latencies to cross and animals tested in the shifted context showed shorter latencies to cross. However, animals tested in the dark generalized their avoidance behavior; animals tested in the same context and animals tested in the shifted context showed similarly-high latencies to cross. We next examined expression of the immediate early gene zif268 and perineuronal nets (PNNs) following testing and found that while activity in the basolateral amygdala corresponded with overall levels of avoidance behaviors, anterior RSC (aRSC) activity corresponded with learned avoidance generally, but posterior RSC (pRSC) activity seemed to correspond with generalized memory. PNN reduction in the RSC was associated with memory formation and retrieval, suggesting a role for PNNs in synaptic plasticity. Further, PNNs did not reduce in the RSC in animals who showed a generalized avoidance behavior, in line with their hypothesized role in memory consolidation.DiscussionThese findings suggest that there is differential engagement of retrosplenial subregions along the rostrocaudal axis to generalization and discrimination

Sex Differences in Metabolic Indices and Chronic Neuroinflammation in Response to Prolonged High-Fat Diet in ApoE4 Knock-In Mice

Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) likely results from combinations of risk factors that include both genetic predisposition and modifiable lifestyle factors. The E4 allele of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is the most significant genetic risk factor for LOAD. A Western-pattern diet (WD) has been shown to strongly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, conditions which have been strongly linked to an increased risk for developing AD. Little is known about how the WD may contribute to, or enhance, the increased risk presented by possession of the ApoE4 allele. To model this interaction over the course of a lifetime, we exposed male and female homozygote ApoE4 knock-in mice and wild-type controls to nine months of a high-fat WD or standard chow diet. At eleven months of age, the mice were tested for glucose tolerance and then for general activity and spatial learning and memory. Postmortem analysis of liver function and neuroinflammation in the brain was also assessed. Our results suggest that behavior impairments resulted from the convergence of interacting metabolic alterations, made worse in a male ApoE4 mice group who also showed liver dysfunction, leading to a higher level of inflammatory cytokines in the brain. Interestingly, female ApoE4 mice on a WD revealed impairments in spatial learning and memory without the observed liver dysfunction or increase in inflammatory markers in the brain. These results suggest multiple direct and indirect pathways through which ApoE and diet-related factors interact. The striking sex difference in markers of chronic neuroinflammation in male ApoE4 mice fed the high-fat WD suggests a specific mechanism of interaction conferring significant enhanced LOAD risk for humans with the ApoE4 allele, which may differ between sexes. Additionally, our results suggest researchers exercise caution when designing and interpreting results of experiments employing a WD, being careful not to assume a WD impacts both sexes by the same mechanisms

Improving Conditions for Incarcerated Individuals

Whereas, in 2019, the United States’ incarceration rate was estimated to be 629 per 100,000 people, which is the highest rate globally and over 8% higher than the closest country; and Whereas, in Indiana, the total jail population has increased 526% from 1970 to 2015 and the total prison population has increased 224% from 1983 to 2018, with our incarceration rates being fourth highest nationally; and Whereas, in 2015, Indiana had the second highest rate of pretrial detainees in the nation at a rate of 272 per 100,000 people; and Whereas, since 2000, the rate of pretrial detainees has increased 72% among Indiana’s 48 rural counties, 43% in 21 small/medium counties, 40% in 22 suburban counties, and 268% in Marion county alone; and Whereas, in the United States, the rate of recidivism is 70% within 5 years of release with few resources to assist reentering individuals find housing, gain employment, or access social services; and Whereas, when connected with employment opportunities, financial planning services, stable housing, and physical and mental health services, rates of recidivism decrease significantly, over 60% amongst those who complete programs, among reentering individuals; and Whereas, incarcerated individuals have higher rates of mental illness than the general population, with approximately 14.5% of men and 31% of women in jails having at least one mental illness as compared to 3.2% and 4.9% respectively amongst the general population; and Whereas, nationally, the number of suicides has increased by 85% in state prisons, 61% in federal prisons, and 13% in local jails from 2001 to 2019, with suicide being the leading cause of death in jails; and Whereas, the risk of suicide in recently released individuals is nearly 6.8 times higher than that of the general population, with most occurring within 28 days of release; and Whereas, in a study of 80 jails by Scheyett et al., 68 reported having no mental health staff who provided care within the jail, 15 reported taking, on average, 5 days or longer to retrieve inmates’ medications and none were utilizing evidence-based screenings to assess for serious mental illnesses, highlighting a concerning disconnect between jail staff and mental health providers; and Whereas, re-entering individuals are unlikely to connect with primary care upon release and very rarely seek mental health services in the months following release; and Whereas, inarcerated individuals are often restricted from accessing rehabilitative social services such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid either through a lack of meeting eligibility requirements or personally held beliefs by incarcerated individuals surrounding eligibility and accessing resources; and Whereas, when provided assistance and access to expedited Medicaid enrollment, reentering individuals were more likely to access health services and receive prescriptions; and 263 Whereas, ISMA (RESOLUTION 15-31) advocates for improved health care of incarcerated individuals; therefore, be it RESOLVED, that ISMA support legislation that improves access to comprehensive physical and behavioral health care services for juveniles and adults throughout the incarceration process from intake to re-entry into the community; and be it further RESOLVED, that ISMA support legislation that removes barriers and increases access to social services and benefits apropos to the respective situations of incarcerated individuals and re-entering individuals, such as: (a) food subsidies; (b) healthcare, including Medicare and/or Medicaid; and (c) housing; and be it further RESOLVED, that ISMA work with relevant stakeholders to create discharge planning and programs that connect reentering individuals with primary care providers and medical homes within the community