Annual Reports of the President, 1961

https://docs.rwu.edu/reports_of_the_president/1004/thumbnail.jp

Annual Reports of the President, 1960

https://docs.rwu.edu/reports_of_the_president/1003/thumbnail.jp

Annual Reports of the President, 1959

https://docs.rwu.edu/reports_of_the_president/1002/thumbnail.jp

Annual Reports of the President, 1962

https://docs.rwu.edu/reports_of_the_president/1005/thumbnail.jp

ANALYSIS AND MAPPING OF RNA POLYMERASE II TERMINATION FACTORS

Termination of transcription is an important, but poorly understood, cellular process. RNA polymerase II (Pol II) terminates coding transcripts and non-coding transcripts (ncRNAs) through two distinct mechanisms in yeast. In the non-poly(A) dependent pathway, Nrd1 and Nab3 bind to their recognition sites on the nascent RNA of ncRNAs to cause termination. This is done through an unknown mechanism, but is known to involve the RNA-DNA helicase Sen1. In our first study, we have mapped Pol II distribution before and after depletion of different termination factors. This was done, by depleting each factor from the nucleus and then using PAR-CLIP to assess the position of Pol II. Nrd1 depletion leads to widespread runaway transcription at non-poly(A) terminators. In contrast, depletion of Sen1 or Ysh1, an endonuclease involved in the poly(A) dependent pathway, does not lead to elevated readthrough transcription. These differences allowed us to map all the non-poly(A) termination regions throughout the yeast genome. Our second study follows the human homolog of Nrd1, RBM16. RBM16 shares a common protein domain architecture and a conserved CTD interacting domain with Nrd1. Although it is unclear whether there is a similar non-poly(A) termination pathway in human cells, we show that there are at least similarities between the classes of RNAs that are bound to both Nrd1 and RBM16. The final study focuses on the unique methodologies used to analyze PAR-CLIP datasets. It describes computer programs and bioinformatic pipelines written to provide answers to basic questions based on PAR-CLIP data. The functions created to answer these questions could be applicable to a wide variety of data. The studies presented here provide a foundation so that fundamental mechanisms of termination can be elucidated

A MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXAMINATION OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT ACROSS CHILD AND PARENT CHARACTERISTICS

The purpose of this study was to clarify equivocal findings in the parent-involvement literature and examine novel interactions in a New Zealand context. Specifically, this study tested direct effects of school year, parent education, family structure, and child gender on parent involvement in elementary school. In addition, interactions between parent, family, and child characteristics were explored as moderators on the relation of school year and parent involvement. Participants were 421 primary caregivers of children attending their first through final years of elementary school on New Zealand’s South Island. Structural equation models were used to detect direct and interaction effects. Findings revealed statistically significant direct effects for several parent, family, and child characteristics examined. No interaction effects were found. Implications and future research directions are discussed

A MULTIDIMENSIONAL EXAMINATION OF PARENT INVOLVEMENT ACROSS CHILD AND PARENT CHARACTERISTICS

The purpose of this study was to clarify equivocal findings in the parent-involvement literature and examine novel interactions in a New Zealand context. Specifically, this study tested direct effects of school year, parent education, family structure, and child gender on parent involvement in elementary school. In addition, interactions between parent, family, and child characteristics were explored as moderators on the relation of school year and parent involvement. Participants were 421 primary caregivers of children attending their first through final years of elementary school on New Zealand’s South Island. Structural equation models were used to detect direct and interaction effects. Findings revealed statistically significant direct effects for several parent, family, and child characteristics examined. No interaction effects were found. Implications and future research directions are discussed

Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and aggression at school

The present study explores the relation between academic self-concept, self-esteem, and aggression at school. Longitudinal data from a racially diverse sample of middle-school students were analyzed to explore how academic self-concept influenced the likelihood of aggressing at school and whether high self-concept exerted a different pattern of influence when threatened. Data include self-reported academic self-concept, school-reported academic performance, and parent-reported school discipline. Results suggest that, in general, students with low self-concept in achievement domains are more likely to aggress at school than those with high self-concept. However, there is a small sample of youth who, when they receive contradictory information that threatens their reported self-concept, do aggress. Global self-esteem was not found to be predictive of aggression. These results are discussed in the context of recent debates on whether self-esteem is a predictor of aggression and the use of a more proximal vs. general self-measure in examining the self-esteem and aggression relation. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–7, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss; Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55938/1/20174_ftp.pd

Kinetic CRAC uncovers a role for Nab3 in determining gene expression profiles during stress

RNA-binding proteins play a key role in shaping gene expression profiles during stress, however, little is known about the dynamic nature of these interactions and how this influences the kinetics of gene expression. To address this, we developed kinetic cross-linking and analysis of cDNAs (\u3c7CRAC), an ultraviolet cross-linking method that enabled us to quantitatively measure the dynamics of protein\u2013RNA interactions in vivo on a minute time-scale. Here, using \u3c7CRAC we measure the global RNA-binding dynamics of the yeast transcription termination factor Nab3 in response to glucose starvation. These measurements reveal rapid changes in protein\u2013RNA interactions within 1\u2009min following stress imposition. Changes in Nab3 binding are largely independent of alterations in transcription rate during the early stages of stress response, indicating orthogonal transcriptional control mechanisms. We also uncover a function for Nab3 in dampening expression of stress-responsive genes. \u3c7CRAC has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of in vivo dynamics of protein\u2013RNA interactions