Analysis of a Non-canonical Antiviral Mechanism in West Nile Virus-infected Mouse Cells

Upon viral infection, host cells produce type I interferon (IFN), which activates the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and induces the expression of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) to establish an antiviral state. In West Nile virus (WNV)-infected cells, the JAK-STAT signaling pathway is blocked by viral proteins. However, the expression of a subset of ISGs, which includes 2¢-5¢-oligoadenylate synthetase 1a (Oas1a), Oas1b, interferon regulatory factor 7 (Irf7), Mx1, and interferon-induced proteins with tetratricopeptide repeats 1 (Ifit1), is still upregulated by an IFN-independent mechanism in WNV-infected mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). Studies in cells with one or more components of RNA-sensing pathway knocked out showed that the alternative ISG upregulation is activated through RIG-I or MDA5, and the downstream adaptor IPS-1. In cells with IRF3, 5 and 7 knocked out, the alternative ISG upregulation by WNV infection is reduced but not eliminated. As an initial means of discovering the transcription factors involved in this non-canonical ISG upregulation, the critical regulatory regions in the promoters of two representative ISGs, Oas1b and Ifit1, were mapped using a dual luciferase assay system with a NanoLuc luciferase promoter reporter in WNV-infected Ifnar1-/- MEFs. The region from -299 to -28 in the Oas1b promoter, and the region from -192 to -50 in the Ifit1 promoter were identified as being important for upregulating non-canonical gene expression after WNV infection. Fine mapping identified enhancer and repressor sub-regions as well as transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) putatively involved in the IFN-independent antiviral mechanism. Mutation of one identified TFBS in the ISG promoters reduced Oas1b and Ifit1 promoter activities. In electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs), a unique band, which was detected in WNV-infected but not in mock-infected Ifnar1-/- MEF nuclear extracts, was not observed when a probe with the identified TFBS mutated was used, suggesting that a unique complex forms at the identified TFBS when it is in the context of the adjacent flanking regions. The unique complex appears to contain NF-κB components and IRF3, IRF5 or IRF7. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism involved in non-canonical upregulation of ISGs after WNV infection

A Comparative Study of Grade 7 Students’ Chinese Listening Achievement With Bilingual Teaching Method and Monolingual Teaching Method in Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language Class at an International School Bangkok, Thailand

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were significant differences between Grade 7 students’ Chinese listening achievement with bilingual teaching method (BTM) and monolingual teaching method (MTM) in learning CFL class at an international school in Bangkok, Thailand, in the academic year 2021-2022. This study was conducted on a population sample of 59 Grade 7 students who were divided into two groups. The experimental group was taught with BTM, while the control group was taught with MTM, taught with the same lesson plans within a six-week experimental period. The research instrument was designed through pretest and posttest of the listening section of the YCT (Level 2) test. YCT was an international standardized test of Chinese language proficiency. The data was collected from the pretest and the posttest scores and compared through both descriptive (i.e., mean and standard deviation) and inferential (i.e. independent samples t-test) statistics methods. The results showed that there was a significant difference between Grade 7 students’ Chinese listening gain achievement with BTM and MTM. Compared to MTM, students could learn better when they learned with BTM. According to these findings, the researcher put forward some recommendations for TCFL teachers, students, administrators, and future researchers in this field

The Cultural Contribution of British Protestant Missionaries in China's National Development During the 1920s.

During the period 1920-1930, British Protestant missionaries engaged in many cultural activities in China. This study is designed to analyze their special role in China's national development and modernization. The opening chapter mainly introduces the significance of the missionary social gospel and describes its theological tenets. It also examines the origins of the movement for cooperation among the Protestant missions and the features of the main British missions. The thesis then turns to the areas in which the missions displayed their leading social concerns, deriving from their policies. Chapters 2 & 3 describe the major contributions of the missionary medical services, analysing both primary medical work (direct medical care) and secondary medical work (education, research, translations and publications, public health) . During the 1920s the Protestant missions were the most important force in medicine in China. Chapter 4 assesses the educational activities of British missionaries and their importance in the circumstances of China in the 1920s in triggering and moulding social change. Above all, the missionaries helped China to perfect her modem educational system and to understand Western learning and culture to much higher standards than previously. The following two chapters analyse the missionaries' role as social welfare workers and social reformers. Their work in this field included popular education, moral welfare, industrial welfare, famine relief, and rural reform, and constituted one of the most outstanding episodes in mission cultural activities. Chapter 7 discusses the British missionaries' influence in the movement of Chinese women's emancipation. In the 1920s many ordinary Chinese women, who had been untouched by the Revolution of 1911, were mobilized by missionary women's work. In contradiction to many traditional accounts, especially those of Chinese scholars, the final chapter assesses the positive cultural achievements of the Protestant missionaries and their unique role in promoting China's progress and modernization

A HISTORICAL EXPLORATION OF INTERNATIONALLY EDUCATED TEACHERS: JAMAICAN TEACHERS IN 1960S ALBERTA

This paper examines the immigration and credentialing experiences of Jamaican teachers in Alberta during the 1960s. Using teacher narratives as well as archival research the paper aims to develop a historical understanding of issues related to internationally educated teachers and how this historical understanding can inform the contemporary theoretical and policy debates on credential recognition. Contrary to an understanding that locates teacher credentialing only in the present day and a one-sided critique of its bureaucratic nature, we argue that historical analysis reminds us that bureaucracy can be both constraining and enabling. An understanding of this duality is of crucial importance for policy makers to rethink the contemporary credentialing process for internationally educated teachers.

Human or Beast: Xenogeneic Creature’s Self-Identity from the Perspective of Ethics —A Case Study of The Island of Dr. Moreau

This paper aims to study the Xenogeneic creature’s ethical choice from the perspective of scientific ethics and legal ethics by analyzing the existing problems, construction methods, and failure reasons of orc self-identity in The Island of Dr. Moreau. By analyzing the orcs’ survival dilemma, the author of this paper finds out that the orcs’ failure of self-identity is closely related to the lack of ethical constraints on scientific experiments and the lack of moral considerations in the formulation of laws

Humanity in the Light of Revolution—A Study of Evan King’s English Translation of National Patriotic Writer Xiao Jun’s Village in August

As one of the pivot figures of “Northeastern Writers”, Xiao Jun’s Village in August is of great importance in the history of modern Chinese literature, highlighting the local characteristics of Northeastern China, the revolutionary “banditry”, and the romantic personal heroism, attracting the attention of Chinese and Western critics. The translation by American sinology researcher Evan King shows attention to Chinese stories and makes a unique contribution to the cultural exchange between China and the West. His translation is noteworthy, but given the differences in cultural contexts between the two countries and the subjectivity of the translator, it is inevitably full of adaptation and mistranslation. Therefore, it is necessary to make a comprehensive examination of the literary style of the original work, and then propose handy translation strategies and principles for the new era: under the translation principle of truthfulness and accuracy, when translating Chinese culture, it is better to integrate both the foreignisation and domestication; when it comes to local culture, it is appropriate to apply various means to compensate for the cultural default given the specific situation and keep fidelity to the original text in the translation of the novel’s literary characteristics

A Study of the Contract Spirit in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice

As a famous playwright and one of the most remarkable literary figures in Britain and the world, Shakespeare is the master of humanist literature in the European Renaissance. The Merchant of Venice is one of his the most representative of works. In this play, a conflict arose from different laws: that is Roman law and Christian law. Shakespeare depicts two laws together perfectly. The spirit of contract and Shakespeare’s humanist ideas are profoundly reflected throughout the play. Shakespeare achieved his desired humanist sentiment while complying with the social and legal system of Venice. The spirit of contract plays quite an important role in social relations. This paper will explore the spirit of contract from three aspects in The Merchant of Venice: family relationships, individual relationships, and societal and individual relationships. It aims to analyze the essence of Shakespeare’s contract spirit, understand the Western countries in the dialectical way and recognize the spiritual essence of Western people

Transcending Boundary of Poetry and Painting: The Pictoriality of John Keats’s Poetry

Keats lived a short life span, but in his space of 25 years’ life, Keats showed the world his remarkable talent for poetry. The pictorial nature of Keats’ poetry is obvious. This paper takes the boundary of poetry and painting as the starting point, mainly studying pictorial embodiment, causes, and influences in his poems. Keats’ unique sense of love, imagination, and depiction of nature is strongly reflected in the sense of color and three-dimensionality in his poems, thus achieving the effect of “reading poetry as appreciating painting” for readers

A Study of Spatial Writing in John Keats’s Lamia

The 19th English romantic poet John Keats constructed a large number of spaces to assist the narrative process in his narrative poem Lamia. If we re-analyze this poem from a spatial perspective, we will find that the poet is using spatial changes to promote the development of the storyline, and reflect the protagonist’s mental journey from the subtle changes of the scene. This essay aims to explore the special significance of its spatial construction and its role in promoting the development of narrative, and analyze the power discourse contained in the poem

“Truth and Mystery”: Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth and the Research on Overseas Establishment of Chinese Image

This paper aims to analyze the issue if Pearl S. Buck conveys an authentic image of China in The Good Earth by composing typical and important aspects ranging from the life of Chinese lower class to the their spiritual status through realistic style. This article reflects its mysterious characteristics by analyzing Buck’s writing of Chinese exoticism and spiritual simplicity and plainness in the novel. Meanwhile, through the exploration of the harsh social conditions, the physical and mental suffering of social oppression, and the tragic fate under the feudal foolishness, Peal tries to find out the true side of China. In addition, through further study, it is found out that Pearl’s portraying of China is featured with waving position: a sense of fusion of and contradiction between mystery and authenticity, thus presenting a contradictory and compatible image of China