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China has shown increased engagement in International Higher Education (IHE), an interest motivated by a tremendous demand among both Chinese and international students. Conducted at a full-scale Sino-foreign joint-venture university (JVU) in China, this study seeks to explore the motivation of first-year international students for applying to and attending Sino-foreign JVU in China. A second related question investigates what they expect to experience prior to matriculation. Qualitative data collection and analyses suggest that international students at a Sino-foreign joint-venture university were motivated by a strong desire to distinguish themselves for integrative, international signaling, and instrumental purposes, and expect to change as a result of studying and living in an intercultural environment in China.

China has shown increased engagement in International Higher Education (IHE), an interest motivated by a tremendous demand among both Chinese and international students. Conducted at a full-scale Sino-foreign joint-venture university (JVU) in China, this study seeks to explore the motivation of first-year international students for applying to and attending Sino-foreign JVU in China. A second related question investigates what they expect to experience prior to matriculation. Qualitative data collection and analyses suggest that international students at a Sino-foreign joint-venture university were motivated by a strong desire to distinguish themselves for integrative, international signaling, and instrumental purposes, and expect to change as a result of studying and living in an intercultural environment in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the replication of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) genome, the viral DNA polymerase subunit UL44 plays a key role, as by binding both DNA and the polymerase catalytic subunit it confers processivity to the holoenzyme. However, several lines of evidence suggest that UL44 might have additional roles during virus life cycle. To shed light on this, we searched for cellular partners of UL44 by yeast two-hybrid screenings. Intriguingly, we discovered the interaction of UL44 with Ubc9, an enzyme involved in the covalent conjugation of SUMO (Small Ubiquitin-related MOdifier) to cellular and viral proteins. We found that UL44 can be extensively sumoylated not only in a cell-free system and in transfected cells, but also in HCMV-infected cells, in which about 50% of the protein resulted to be modified at late times post-infection, when viral genome replication is accomplished. Mass spectrometry studies revealed that UL44 possesses multiple SUMO target sites, located throughout the protein. Remarkably, we observed that binding of UL44 to DNA greatly stimulates its sumoylation both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, we showed that overexpression of SUMO alters the intranuclear distribution of UL44 in HCMV-infected cells, and enhances both virus production and DNA replication, arguing for an important role for sumoylation in HCMV life cycle and UL44 function(s). These data report for the first time the sumoylation of a viral processivity factor and show that there is a functional interplay between the HCMV UL44 protein and the cellular sumoylation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]