Dimerization of the bacterial RsrI N6-adenine DNA methyltransferase

Dimeric restriction endonucleases and monomeric modification methyltransferases were long accepted as the structural paradigm for Type II restriction systems. Recent studies, however, have revealed an increasing number of apparently dimeric DNA methyltransferases. Our initial characterization of RsrI methyltransferase (M.RsrI) was consistent with the enzyme functioning as a monomer, but, subsequently, the enzyme crystallized as a dimer with 1500 Å(2) of buried surface area. This result led us to re-examine the biochemical properties of M.RsrI. Gel-shift studies of M.RsrI binding to DNA suggested that binding cooperativity targets hemimethylated DNA preferentially over unmethylated DNA. Size-exclusion chromatography indicated that the M.RsrI–DNA complex had a size and stoichiometry consistent with a dimeric enzyme binding to the DNA. Kinetic measurements revealed a quadratic relationship between enzyme velocity and concentration. Site-directed mutagenesis at the dimer interface affected the kinetics and DNA-binding of the enzyme, providing support for a model proposing an active enzyme dimer. We also identified a conserved motif in the dimer interfaces of the β-class methyltransferases M.RsrI, M.MboIIA and M2.DpnII. Taken together, these data suggest that M.RsrI may be part of a sub-class of MTases that function as dimers

For-Profit Higher Education and Community Colleges

The recent growth of for-profit educational providers has been one of the most watched trends in higher education (Blumenstyk, 2000; Burd, 1998; Selingo, 1999; Strosnider, 1998). Despite the widespread attention, surprisingly little concrete information exists about the for-profit phenomenon. Although the for-profit sector is not the only source of new competition in higher education, the highly publicized growth of some for-profit institutions has generated increasing anxiety among both private non-profit and public colleges and universities. To develop a better understanding of how these institutions compare to public community colleges with respect to their students and programs, the Community College Research Center joined with the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement (NCPI) to conduct a two-year study. The objective was to determine whether these two types of institutions are competitive or complementary and how community colleges have responded to the growth of the for-profits

Is improving sleep and circadian problems in adolescence a pathway to improved health? A mediation analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The present study tested whether improvements in sleep and circadian problems mediate the effect of a novel transdiagnostic sleep and circadian intervention (TranS-C) on improvements in 5 health domains (emotional, cognitive, behavioral, social, and physical) in community-residing, evening chronotype adolescents who were at risk for problems in these 5 health domains. METHOD: Participants were 176 adolescents (age mean [SD] = 14.77 [1.84] years; 58% female) who were randomized to receive 6 sessions of TranS-C or psychoeducation. Putative mediators tested were eveningness, weekday-weekend discrepancy in total sleep time and waketime, daytime sleepiness, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score, and parent-reported sleep-wake problems. Risk in 5 health domains was measured using adolescent self-reported questionnaires, parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist, and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of problems in the 5 health domains. RESULTS: Reduced eveningness mediated the effects of TranS-C on reducing both self-reported and parent-reported risk in the 5 health domains. Reduction in daytime sleepiness mediated the effects of TranS-C on parent-reported risk in the 5 health domains. Reduction in parent-reported sleep-wake problems mediated the effects of TranS-C on self-reported, parent-reported, and EMA-assessed risk in the 5 health domains. Results did not support the other hypothesized mediators. CONCLUSIONS: TranS-C exerts effects on reducing risk in multiple mental and physical health domains through reducing sleep and circadian problems in evening chronotype adolescents. Further research of TranS-C in other samples to assess its benefits for sleep and circadian problems as well as mental and physical health is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Addressing the Challenges of Recruitment and Retention in Sleep and Circadian Clinical Trials.

Objective/Background: Sleep and circadian disorders are prevalent worldwide and frequently comorbid with physical and mental illnesses. Thus, recruiting and retaining samples for sleep and circadian research are high priorities. The aims of this paper are to highlight barriers to recruitment and retention for participants with sleep or circadian dysfunction, and to share strategies used across two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing the efficacy of the Transdiagnostic Intervention for Sleep and Circadian Dysfunction (TranS-C) to address these challenges. Participants: The first RCT recruited 176 adolescents with an evening circadian chronotype, who were at risk in at least one of five health domains: behavioral, cognitive, emotional, physical, and social. The second RCT recruited 121 low-income, racial or ethnic minority adults diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI) and comorbid sleep or circadian dysfunction. Methods: The current study examined participant, environment, and research factors that impacted recruitment and retention of participants with sleep or circadian dysfunction, and identified strategies to enhance recruitment and retention. Results: Strategies used to recruit participants included community-based recruiting, reducing stigma, and alleviating burdensome sleep data collection. Strategies used to retain participants in our studies included flexible scheduling, mitigating participant barriers, building rapport with participants through empathic and positive interactions, creative problem solving, consulting participant networks, and utilizing incentives and other positive engagement tools. Conclusion: Both at-risk adolescents and low-income, minority adults with comorbid SMI and sleep or circadian dysfunction experience significant barriers to research participation. Recruitment and retention strategies were creatively tailored to meet the unique barriers of these diverse populations

Internet use and its impact on internalizing disorder symptoms and sleep in adolescents with an evening circadian preference.

Study objectivesThis study sought to examine the relationship between internet use, sleep, and internalizing disorder symptoms in adolescents with an evening circadian preference.MethodsOne hundred seventy-two adolescents aged 10-18 years with an evening circadian preference completed a week of sleep diaries and questionnaires about internet use and internalizing disorder symptoms.ResultsAdolescents reported internet use for 3.81 hours on weekdays and 5.44 hours on weekends, with > 90% having access to both a computer with internet and a personal cell phone. A majority of adolescents used the internet from 4-8 pm (71%) and from 9-11 pm (62%). Common online activities included listening to music (77%), watching videos (64%), communicating with others (64%), and doing homework (58%). Late-night internet use (9-11 pm) was associated with more internalizing disorder symptoms. Middle-of-the-night internet use (midnight-5 am) was associated with a later bedtime, shorter total sleep time, and more internalizing disorder symptoms. Adolescents used the internet to fulfill social needs, to avoid or combat boredom, or for maladaptive activities. Using the internet for social interaction or avoidance/boredom was associated with higher internalizing disorder symptoms. Using the internet for maladaptive reasons was associated with more late-night and middle-of-the-night use.ConclusionsAdolescent internet use late at night and in the middle of the night is common. Internet use may be motivated by desires for social connection, by boredom/avoidance, or for maladaptive behaviors. Because middle-of-the-night internet use was associated with higher internalizing disorder symptoms and worse sleep, it presents as a potential target for intervention.CitationAsarnow LD, Gasperetti CE, Gumport NB, Harvey AG. Internet use and its impact on internalizing disorder symptoms and sleep in adolescents with an evening circadian preference. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(10):2019-2027

Administrators in higher education: organizational expansion in a transforming institution

Recent European research has revealed growth in the number of administrators and professionals across different sections of universities—a long established trend in US universities. We build on this research by investigating the factors associated with variation in the proportion of administrators across 761 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in 11 European countries. We argue that the enactment of expanded and diversified missions of HE is one of the main factors nurturing universities’ profesional and administrative bodies. Our findings support such an assertion; regardless of geographical and institutional differences, HEIs with high levels of “entrepreneurialism” (e.g. in service provision and external engagement) are characterized by a larger proportion of administrative staff. However, we find no empirical support for arguments citing structural pressures and demands on HEIs due to higher student enrolments, budget cuts or deregulation as engines driving such change. Instead, our results point towards, as argued by neo-institutionalists, the diffusion of formal organization as a model of institutional identity and purpose, which is especially prevalent at high levels of external connectedness

Mapping the Growth and Demographics of Managerial and Professional Staff in Higher Education

This chapter presents a descriptive analysis of the growth of managerial and professional staff from Fall 1993 to Fall 2011 across institution types and sectors, and a detailed snapshot of the demographic composition of these staff in Fall 2016. Our results indicate tremendous growth in the population of non‐faculty staff over time, and reveal key patterns in staff employment by gender and race/ethnicity.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154664/1/he20352.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154664/2/he20352_am.pd

Beyond The Horizon

Student affairs professionals have an obligation and an opportunity to support students moving through the college-years stages of psychosocial development by helping them use technology in approrpriate ways

Universities’ pursuit of inclusion and its effects on professional staff: the case of the United Kingdom

This paper explores the proliferation of non-academic professionals as a cultural response to universities’ mission of inclusion. Departing from a neo-institutionalist perspective, the author argues that the diffusion of highly rationalised models of institutional action shapes universities as formal organisations who engage with new levels of professional expertise in the pursuit of goals and missions. The United Kingdom (UK) offers an illustrative example, the emergence of statutory equality duties on public institutions (race equality duty 2001, disability equality duty 2006 and gender equality duty 2007) nurturing an image of universities as strategic for the pursuit of demographic inclusion. Using yearly longitudinal data on 109 UK universities from 2003 to 2011, the author shows that universities increase their professional staff in catering for demographic inclusion in terms of ethnicity and disability, revealing highly rationalised institutional responses to the aforementioned equality duties. The findings contribute to the neo-institutionalist literature drawing attention to the transformation of universities into organisational actors (i.e. highly integrated entities, strategically oriented towards the pursuit of formally articulated goals and targets), which contrasts with traditional conceptions of the university as an institution with a taken-for-granted societal role and loosely defined organisational backbone. The findings provide the impetuous for further empirical research into the role of professional staff as universities assimilate new goals and missions