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Ph.D. productions and employment prospects in Zimbabwe; Imperative from Education 5.0 Heritage-Based Education System
No full textThe production of PhDs has been a topical issue for debate about the need for such a qualification as a foundation for development. Literature is awash with arguments that support the need for a Ph.D. as a development thrust in many countries. In most countries in the West and Europe, their developmental thrust has been anchored on the production and employability of Ph.D. holders. Although this has been the case elsewhere, the same may not be accurate in Africa, particularly Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe engaged in an ambitious project called Education 5.0 Heritage-Based Education System as an impetus to develop the country with the production and employability of Ph.D.s as one of its objectives. Still, the progress of such a policy remains untested and over-ambitious. Reviewing three articles from the University World News one by Maina Waruru, and Eric Fredua-Kwarteng’s two articles vis-a-vis the production and employment prospects of Ph.D.s in Zimbabwe, this paper aims to critically analyze the imperatives of Heritage-Based Education 5.0 and its impact on the production and employment prospects of Ph.D.s, in Zimbabwe. From this analysis, the article argues that although the Western Ph.D. model is not entirely suitable for Africa and Zimbabwe in particular, its principles and objectives are something Zimbabwe would have to learn from as it develops its policies. Thus, the article questions the aims of the Education 5.0 policy based on the demands and expectations of Ph.D. graduates. For a country that has gone through cycles of poverty and policy changes and has little capacity to produce the minimum number of doctorates required to influence meaningful economic development, it is difficult to justify its shift in policy from the norm as far as Ph.D. production and employment are concerned. The analysis reports several areas of shortcomings, the challenges in the production of Ph.D.s in Zimbabwe, the capacity of supervisors, knowledge generation, and the employability of Ph.D. holders in Zimbabwe
The Efficient Default Rule for Sandbagging in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Limited Pro-Sandbagging Default
No full textIn the area of mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”), a buyer “sandbags” a seller when, knowing the seller has breached—intentionally or unintentionally—a representation or warranty prior to closing, the buyer nonetheless closes the sale and subsequently brings a post-closing indemnification claim. Parties to a merger or acquisition can negotiate a pro- or anti-sandbagging provision; however, the recent trend has been rising instances of silence in M&A agreements. Given the modern majority default rule, the result is that most buyers in the United States hold a sandbagging right; however, default rules are ambiguous, uncertain, and inconsistent across jurisdictions. While sandbagging at first glance appears unfair to the seller, the situation is far more nuanced, and there is potential for perverse disclosure incentives for both buyer and seller. The recent trend towards silence reflects not an acquiescence by sellers to the default rule of the governing jurisdiction, as scholars have previously suggested, but rather prohibitively high transaction costs and valuation issues faced by both parties that make negotiating over sandbagging language in the M&A agreement inherently inefficient. This Note suggests that a modified version of a pro-sandbagging default rule that focuses on knowledge of breach obtained post-signing but pre-closing, limits “knowledge” to actual knowledge obtained by senior executives and members of the due diligence team, and places a shifting burden of proof on both parties, efficiently incentivizes the buyer and seller to collaboratively disclose, handle pre-closing knowledge of breach with special indemnities and reductions in purchase price, and avoid litigation. Such a rule also effectuates the “fairest” outcome from a public policy perspective, by allowing a successful sandbagging defense only when “sandbagging” has occurred in a knowing, premeditated manner. Ultimately, the default sandbagging rule of each jurisdiction will depend upon its public policy, and this Note provides negotiating strategies for both buyer and seller when forced into an adverse sandbagging position
Engineering Affinity of YTH Protein to M6A-RNA
No full textEngineered RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) show promise for diverse applications in research and therapeutic development. Modulating the interaction between YTH-domain containing proteins and methylated RNA ligands could result in a high affinity, highly specific binding protein for the advancement of research tools in neurodegenerative disease. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modified RNA contributes to stress granule formation that promotes neurotoxicity in neurodegenerative disease, with concentrations of m6A-RNA increased fivefold in Alzheimer’s Disease. Further affinity maturation of the YTH-m6A interaction through directed evolution of the YTH domain could produce a novel protein with increased affinity better suited for the development of biological detection tools or therapeutic proteins. Here, I explore the design of a yeast surface display platform for the engineering of RBPs to m6A-RNA ligands. Furthermore, I explored the efficacy of Nanopore sequencing to characterize mutant libraries for subsequent directed evolution experiments. While there appears to be evidence that RNA-RBP interactions can be observed with this platform, further experiments with more robust expression labeling are necessary to proceed with the directed evolution of the YTH protein using yeast surface display. Additionally, while concatemer formation during sequencing library preparation compromised the reliability of high-throughput DNA sequencing results, there is still promise for this approach as well in future experiments
The Effect of Cellular Glucose Levels on Inotersen-Mediated Target Reduction in in vitro Cell Models
No full textAntisense oligonucleotide (ASO) drugs are a new therapeutic modality to treat rare as well as common diseases. These drugs work to reduce disease by targeting the mRNA of the gene that causes the disease, therefore limiting the proteins that further propagate the signs and symptoms of the disorder. Many people who suffer from more severe diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), and a wide array of cancers, utilize ASO drugs for treatment, but the drug is also used with those suffering from more common diseases such as diabetes. The efficacy of ASO drugs to silence their mRNA and protein targets under the conditions of common diseases has yet to be investigated, until this study. The study utilized in vitro cell models, HepG2 and HepaRG, to explore the silencing efficacy of the ASO drug, inotersen, in low, normal, and high glucose conditions. Inotersen is an ASO drug that treats hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (hATTR), which is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive nervous system damage as well and damages other tissues and organs. The results indicated that high glucose levels decreased inotersen’s ability to reduce its targets, but this can be reversed by lowering the glucose levels through treatment with an antidiabetic drug (metformin) or by knocking down glucose transporters (GLUT2)
College Sojourners\u27 Reentry Experiences after Studying Abroad
No full textWhen people think of studying abroad, they often think the experience ends when a study abroad participant returns home, but the reentry experience back home can be just as significant as the experience in the host country. In this study, I explored the following questions: (1) What emotional, social, and academic transitions do students experience when returning home from studying abroad? and (2) In what ways do the experiences students have abroad change their perspective of their life in the home culture? We interviewed 10 and surveyed 3 recent study abroad returnees from a large state university in New England. We organized our participants’ responses and stories through six principal themes: criticism of American culture, expectations for own culture, independence, transition to academics, displacement in the US and grief, and interpersonal relationships. This research corresponded with the minimal existing research in this space but also showed that reentry is dependent on the individual and can also be a very positive experience despite the inevitable challenges
Detection of Covid-19 Variants
No full textThe outbreak of Covid-19 in December 2019 was devastating to many but led to major advancements in vaccine research and development. The development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection offers protection for the public but cannot eliminate the risk of contracting Covid-19 due to the many viral mutations since the initial wild-type strain isolation in 2019. Analysis of these viral mutations will allow for the development of vaccines with greater protection against the new variants of the coronavirus. Secondary to Covid-19 infection seen in the pediatric population is Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C. Through qPCR analysis of pediatric clinical samples provided by two hospitals, one based in Hartford, CT and one based in Colombia from March 2021 to May 2022, I determined the viral load of clinical Covid-19 samples and used this for variant detection. Looking at 8 different variants of Covid-19 through qPCR analysis, which mutations present in each variant were determined. This information is useful for future studies in determining which variant each patient was infected with and correlating which variant is associated with the worst clinical outcomes in children. Information on specific variants and clinical outcomes will alert vaccine manufacturers to focus their attention on formulating a vaccine that offers stronger protection against the variants showing worse clinical outcomes
The Business of Domesticity: Homemaker Influencer Content and the Depoliticization of Women\u27s Gender Roles
No full textSocial media platforms have seen a rise in content created by female influencers who display their domestic and family lives, from “homefluencers” and “mommy bloggers” to media sensationalized “tradwives.” Among these content creators, “homemaker” influencers curate and present their lifestyles in ways that reflect and question broader discourses on gender roles, women’s labor, and traditionalism. This study analyzes the content of ten self-identified “homemaker” influencers on Instagram to understand how they construct and maintain a self-brand amidst adjacent online communities like crunchy and far-right networks, and in a wider neoliberal, postfeminist cultural context. This paper explores how Instagram’s platform features facilitate the (re)production of this aestheticized content, and how the influencer content compares to historical representations of the homemaker ideal in normative white, Western culture. Finally, this study will consider the social implications of the popularization and depoliticization of this genre of feminine domestic influencer content
