From Russia with Love

An ongoing collaboration between Illinois Wesleyan and Russian scholars inspires new research and surprising cultural insights

Examining the effect of school development loans on education capacity and quality: evidence from Ghana and Uganda

Increased investment in education to build capacity and quality is essential if the world is to meet its ambitious targets on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education. There are 258 million school aged children out of school, of which 98 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Low-income countries are experiencing dramatic growth in their populations and have severe limitations on their ability to fund the required infrastructure development. The financing gap is estimated to be US$ 1.8 trillion to achieve SDG goals (Education Commission, 2016). Low-Cost Private Schools (LCPS), accessible to children from poor families, are growing rapidly in SSA to fill this gap. This study is focused on the potential to increase the use of innovative financing to improve capacity and quality for LCPSs. Most innovative finance schemes utilise some form of a School Development Loan to achieve greater investment in capacity and quality of education. The study evaluates the effect of School Development Loans on several indicators which have been directly associated with capacity and quality, using data from Ghana and Uganda, countries estimated to need a combined 5 million new seats for children by 2023 (7% of their combined population) to account for population growth. Capacity indicators include the Number of Students enrolled in the school and the Number of Classrooms available for use. The indicators of school quality were Pupil Teacher Ratios (Lower), the Number of Washrooms, the Number of Washrooms Dedicated to Girls and the Number of Extracurricular Programmes Offered by the school. The study leveraged pairwise correlation and regression analysis to identify the most directly linked indicators, followed by a mean difference analysis. The study finds that schools taking out School Development Loans have more classrooms, higher enrolment, greater amounts of washrooms and extracurricular activities on offer, indicating that School Development Loans increase both capacity and quality at LCPSs. Despite the encouraging findings, it is early to assess whether the significance of the increase over time. The study recommends a fully coordinated Randomised Control Trial (RCT) for further research, where data is collected prior to the school receiving its first loan and again at the conclusion of the loan

Partial purification and characterization of F₄₂₀-dependent NADP reductase from Methanobrevibacter smithii strain DE1

The F420-dependent NADP reductase of Methanobrevibacter smithii has been partially purified employing a combination of affinity chromatography with Blue Sepharose (Cl-6B) and molecular sieve chromatography with Sephacryl S-200, The enzyme, which requires reduced F420 as an electron donor, has been purified over 145 fold with a recovery of 6%. A molecular weight of 120,00 for the native enzyme was determined by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography. A subunit molecular weight of 28,200 was determined by SDS-PAGE, indicating that the native enzyme is a tetramer. The optimal temperature for enzymatic activity was found to be 45°C, with a pH optimum of 7.5. The NADP reductase had an apparent Km of 42 uM for reduced F420, and an apparent Km of 4l uM for NADP. The enzyme was stable in 0.05 M sodium phosphate buffer (plus 10 mM cysteine) at pH 7.0, when gassed with nitrogen or hydrogen and stored at 4°C

The presence of latent virus influences the maintenance and phenotype of the HSV-specific CD8 memory population

HSV-1 establishes latency in sensory neurons of the trigeminal ganglia (TG) following corneal infection. The concept that latently infected neurons are ignored by the host immune response has given way to the notion that CD8 T cells maintained in the TG monitor infected neurons thereby subverting reactivation. The tendency of HSV-1 to periodically reactivate in humans and mediate recurrent disease is associated with significant morbidity. A desire to understand the complex interactions of this pathogen, the neurons that harbor it, and the immune system that monitors latency define this study. Two populations of CD8 T cells rapidly infiltrate the TG coincident with resolution of replicating virus and juxtapose with neurons for the life of the mouse. One population recognizes the immunodominant glycoprotein B (gB) epitope while the other does not (gB-nonspecific). We establish that the homeostatic cytokine IL-15 does not contribute to the maintenance of gB-specific or gB-nonspecific CD8 T cells within the TG during latency. However, IL-15 is crucial for the regulation of gB-specific memory CD8 T cells in noninfected tissues. These findings led us to question whether gB-nonspecific CD8 T cells are important in the HSV-1 response. We demonstrate that gB-nonspecific CD8 T cells upregulate the effector molecule granzyme B, and produce IFNã and proliferate in response to HSV-1-infected but not gB-transfected targets. This data conclusively shows that gB-nonspecific CD8 T cells in the infected TG are HSV-1 specific. This population is also capable of preventing reactivation following explant of latent TG. Contrary to their gB-specific CD8 counterparts, gB-nonspecific CD8 T cells have a reduced capacity to produce IFNã during latency and this reduction in function is associated with increased expression of PD-1. Surprisingly, blockade of PD-L1 did not rescue effector function yet increased the viral burden during latency. We show that a population of neurons expressing PD-L1 contains an enriched reservoir of HSV-1 latency that is highly prone to reactivate

Female Undergraduate's Perceptions of Intrusive Behavior in 12 Countries

The present study examines young women’s (N = 1,734) perceptions of the unacceptability of 47 intrusive activities enacted by men. Female undergraduate psychology students from 12 countries (Armenia, Australia, England, Egypt, Finland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, Trinidad) indicated which of 47 intrusive activities they considered to be unacceptable. Responses were compared with parasite-stress values, a measure of global gender equality and Hofstede’s dimensions of national cultures. There was no unanimous agreement on any of the items, even for those relating to forced sexual violence. Cluster analysis yielded four clusters: ‘Aggression and surveillance’ (most agreement that the constituent items were unacceptable), ‘Unwanted attention,’ ‘Persistent courtship and impositions,’ and ‘Courtship and information seeking’ (least agreement that the constituent items were unacceptable). There were no significant relationships between the ‘Aggression and surveillance’ or ‘Courtship and information seeking’ clusters and the measure of gender equality, Hofstede’s dimensions of national cultures or the measure of parasite stress. For the ‘Unwanted attention’ and ‘Persistent courtship and impositions’ clusters, women residing in countries with higher gender inequality and higher parasite-stress were less accepting of behavior associated with uncommitted sexual relations, and women in more individualistic societies with higher levels of gender equality were less accepting of monitoring activities. Culture may take precedence over personal interpretations of the unacceptability of intrusive behavior that is not obviously harmful or benign in nature

Horizontal transmission of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during cattle housing, survival kinetics in feces and water of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and characterisation of E. coli O157:H7 isolates from cattle faeces and a feedlot environment

End of project reportTeagasc acknowledges with gratitude the support of European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF) in financing this research projectEscherichia coli O157:H7 can cause severe illness and in some cases leading to death. Cattle are the main reservoir with transmission to humans occurring through contamination of food or the environment. Improved understanding of the survival and transmission and survival of E. coli O157:H7 on the farm is essential for developing future controls of this pathogen. This study showed that transmission of E. coli O157:H7 can occur rapidly in groups of housed cattle, with contamination of the pens and hides occurring in 24 hrs. The inoculation dose for cattle is lower than previously reported. Ingestion of bacteria from the hide through social grooming is important for pathogen transmission in housed cattle along with faecal contamination of the environment. Sampling hide will improve the estimation of prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in pens

Reasonable\u27 perceptions of stalking: the influence of conduct severity and the perpetrator-target relationship

Ex-partner stalkers are more persistent and dangerous than stranger stalkers, but are less likely to be convicted of an offence. This research considers whether the just world hypothesis (JWH) can account for this apparent contradiction. An experimental 3×3 independent factorial design was used to investigate the influence of conduct severity and the perpetrator–target relationship on perceptions of stalking. Three hundred and thirty-four students were presented with one of nine vignettes and asked to complete five scale items relating to the situation described. Conduct severity and the perpetrator–target relationship produced significant main effects for the combined scale items. The perpetrator\u27s behaviour was perceived to constitute stalking, necessitate police intervention and/or criminal charges, and cause the target alarm or personal distress to a greater extent when the perpetrator and target were depicted as strangers rather than ex-partners. Conversely, the target was perceived to be less responsible for encouraging the perpetrator\u27s behaviour in the stranger condition compared to the ex-partner condition. The JWH provides a possible explanation for the influence of the perpetrator–target relationship on perceptions of stalking. Future research could utilize more realistic vignettes to increase the impact of the perpetrator\u27s behaviour