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A belief that women's representation increases legitimacy informs United Nations peacekeeping policies and the foreign policy agendas of many states. However, we do not know how women's participation alters support for UN peacekeeping within troop contributing countries. Based on gender stereotypes, the public may assume that women peacekeepers indicate that peacekeeping missions are more legitimate, which may increase support. Yet, if women peacekeepers are harmed, this may decrease support due to the gendered protection norm. Moreover, exposure to women peacekeepers may challenge gender roles. Using survey experiments in India and South Africa, this study finds that women peacekeepers' deployment or death does not impact support for peacekeeping. However, exposure to women's casualties increases support for women's rights to some extent. Further, a survey of representatives of the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations reveals gaps between decision-makers' beliefs about how women peacekeepers impact public support and the experimental findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Platelet lysate (PL) demonstrates antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties offering potential for treatment of bacterial pneumonia in horses. It remains unknown whether nebulization is suitable for PL administration in horses. This pilot study characterized particle size and flow rate of pooled equine PL (single preparation) nebulized using an equine-specific nebulizer (Flexivent®). Methods: Protein composition and antimicrobial activity were compared before and after nebulization. Protein composition was evaluated according to growth factor, antimicrobial peptide and cytokine concentrations and proteomic analysis. To evaluate antimicrobial activity, bacterial growth inhibition [maximum growth (μmax); carrying capacity (K)] were determined for E. coli, Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus and Rhodococcus equi (WT and MDR) using pre- and post-nebulized PL concentrations of 50%. Results: Flow rate and median particle size were 0.8 ml/min and 4.991 μm with 52% of particles ≤ 5 μm. Differences in PL protein composition were detected with nebulization. For E. coli and S. zooepidemicus , nebulization did not alter effect of PL on growth parameters. PL treatments decreased K for S. zooepidemicus (p = 0.009) compared to BHI. For R. equi K was increased post- vs. pre-nebulization (WT and MDR) and μmax increased pre- vs, post-nebulization (MDR). PL treatments increased K and μmax for MDR R. equi and μmax for WT R. equi compared to BHI (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Nebulization of PL in vitro is technically feasible. The results of this study support further investigation to better characterize the effect of nebulization on PL and its suitability for nebulization in horses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, foodborne pathogens cause an estimated 4 million cases of human illness, 11,600 hospitalizations, and 238 deaths each year (1). Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, and Salmonella are the foodborne zoonotic [...]

The degree to which female political actors influence policy is hotly debated in political science. However, relatively little research considers how women's representation in the police influences policing outcomes. We argue that increasing women's representation should be associated with increases in rape report rates but should not be associated with changes in rape arrest rates. We expect public perceptions of female police to affect victims' willingness to report and cooperate with the police, but the masculine, hierarchical, and complex nature of police investigations of rape will make it difficult for those increases in reporting to translate into increases in arrests for those crimes. We leverage unique police administrative data from 1987 to 2016 and find that although women's representation is associated with increased rape report rates, there is no relationship with rape arrest rates, highlighting an important justice gap. Our article has implications not only for the study of female representation and representative bureaucracy but also provides insights into how descriptive representation may be limited by institutional culture, norms, practices, and procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the public, policymakers, and scholars increasingly call for police reform, one commonly proposed solution is to increase the number of female officers and leaders under the assumption that female police will be perceived as more trustworthy, less violent, and more effective at addressing gendered crimes. Using a survey experiment, we explore whether there is a link between passive representation in police leadership and civilians' perceptions of substantive representation by the police. We argue that due to feminine stereotypes and role congruity theory, female police chiefs should be perceived as more effective at addressing gendered crimes, corruption, police brutality, and community relations, but be evaluated as less competent on addressing violent crimes. We find that female police chiefs are considered to be more competent at handling gendered crimes (with little relationship with non-gendered crimes), and are viewed as more able to address corruption, police brutality, and community relations. Female police chiefs are also more likely to receive higher levels of overall support. We emphasize that our study points to the importance of passive representation within police leadership, but caution that increasing women's representation may be a necessary, but not sufficient condition to improve relations between the public and the police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite conflict's violent and deleterious impacts, scholarship increasingly demonstrates that women's political rights at the macro-level increase after conflict. However, relatively less is understood about how conflict impacts women's security at the micro-level, especially regarding how it impacts men's and women's attitudes toward intimate partner violence. While conflict can challenge traditional gender roles that justify wife beating, it also promotes hypermasculinity, normalizes violence, and leads to backlash against women in an attempt to re-establish traditional gender hierarchies. International actors, particularly through aid, moderate the impact of conflict on attitudes toward wife beating by encouraging progressive gender roles and increasing socio-economic development. Using Demographic Health Survey data in Uganda, this analysis compares the influence of conflict and international aid at the microlevel on approval of wife beating. The results demonstrate that women exposed to both conflict and aid are relatively less likely to approve of wife beating relative to women exposed to conflict alone. In contrast, men exposed to violence and aid do not alter their justification of wife beating. This study clarifies how conflict impacts attitudes toward women's rights at the microlevel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]