RIBFIND: a web server for identifying rigid bodies in protein structures and to aid flexible fitting into cryo EM maps

Motivation: To better analyze low-resolution cryo electron microscopy maps of macromolecular assemblies, component atomic structures frequently have to be flexibly fitted into them. Reaching an optimal fit and preventing the fitting process from getting trapped in local minima can be significantly improved by identifying appropriate rigid bodies in the fitted component. Results: Here we present the RIBFIND server, a tool for identifying rigid bodies in protein structures. The server identifies rigid bodies in proteins by calculating spatial proximity between their secondary structural elements. Availability: The RIBFIND web server and its standalone program are available at http://ribfind.ismb.lon.ac.uk

Enhancing the Professionalisation of Student Affairs through Assessment

The past decades have seen an increase in the attention and focus of student affairs work in Africa. As the profession works to strengthen its reputation and value within higher education through conferences, organisations and publications, student affairs professionals can also raise the stature of the profession through work on their individual campuses. Engaging in assessment may be one such opportunity. As a way to create a common language regarding student affairs assessment, this paper provides an overview of the definitions, types and purposes of assessment. The thought is that viewing assessment as an integral, rather than ‘extra’ aspect of student affairs and incorporating these activities within their work, student affairs professionals will not only improve the effectiveness of their work with students but also can help legitimise the field as a profession

Enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment

The past decades have seen an increase in the attention and focus of student affairs workin Africa. As the profession works to strengthen its reputation and value within highereducation through conferences, organisations and publications, student affairs professionalscan also raise the stature of the profession through work on their individual campuses.Engaging in assessment may be one such opportunity. As a way to create a commonlanguage regarding student affairs assessment, this paper provides an overview of thedefinitions, types and purposes of assessment. The thought is that viewing assessment as anintegral, rather than ‘extra’ aspect of student affairs and incorporating these activities withintheir work, student affairs professionals will not only improve the effectiveness of theirwork with students but also can help legitimise the field as a profession

Enhancing the professionalisation of student affairs through assessment

The past decades have seen an increase in the attention and focus of student affairs work in Africa. As the profession works to strengthen its reputation and value within higher education through conferences, organisations and publications, student affairs professionals can also raise the stature of the profession through work on their individual campuses. Engaging in assessment may be one such opportunity. As a way to create a common language regarding student affairs assessment, this paper provides an overview of the definitions, types and purposes of assessment. The thought is that viewing assessment as an integral, rather than ‘extra’ aspect of student affairs and incorporating these activities within their work, student affairs professionals will not only improve the effectiveness of their work with students but also can help legitimise the field as a profession.Keywords: assessment, student affairs, best practices, higher educatio

Competencies Needed for Entry-Level Student Affairs Work: Views from Mid-Level Professionals

The ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies for Student Affairs were designed to articulate skills needed for effective practice. However, since its first publication in 2010, little research has been done to understand whether these competencies align with the skills needed to be successful student affairs professionals. This qualitative study examined mid-level supervisors’ perceptions of the skills needed for effective entry-level student affairs work and compared these responses to the ACPA/NASPA competencies. Mid-level manager’s perceptions of skills aligned with stated competencies with some minor discrepancies noted. These findings have implications for practice, graduate preparation programs, potential revisions to the competencies and future research

Tuition Discounting at Small, Private, Baccalaureate Institutions: Reaching a Point of No Return?

This paper describes relationships between tuition discounting (TD), net tuition revenue, and other institutional characteristics at four-year, liberal arts institutions. TD, a practice whereby institutional grants are used to subsidize a student’s educational expense, has become a common practice at four-year institutions. TDs impact on enrollments, financial aid, and budgets continues to increase, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of the practice. Drawing upon Breneman’s (1994) economic theory of four-year private institutions, this research examined trends in student characteristics, enrollment, institutional grants, and net tuition revenue (NTR) and the relationship between TD practices NTR. Analyzing panel data of four-year, small, liberal arts colleges from 2003-2012, results illustrated that over the 10-year period, enrollment, tuition, and number and amount of institutional grant aid increased; average yield and SAT average score decreased. NTR has increased but lags behind increases in tuition and gross tuition revenue. Additionally, there is a point at which TD practices do not generate additional revenue. The results highlight the importance of financial aid officers and institutional leaders to examine the effectiveness of their current tuition discounting practices, the demand for their institution, and strategies for improving enrollment and retention

Conserved Central Intraviral Protein Interactome of the Herpesviridae Family

Protein interactions are major driving forces behind the functional phenotypes of biological processes. As such, evolutionary footprints are reflected in system-level collections of protein-protein interactions (PPIs), i.e., protein interactomes. We conducted a comparative analysis of intraviral protein interactomes for representative species of each of the three subfamilies of herpesviruses (herpes simplex virus 1, human cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr virus), which are highly prevalent etiologic agents of important human diseases. The intraviral interactomes were reconstructed by combining experimentally supported and computationally predicted protein-protein interactions. Using cross-species network comparison, we then identified family-wise conserved interactions and protein complexes, which we defined as a herpesviral “central” intraviral protein interactome. A large number of widely accepted conserved herpesviral protein complexes are present in this central intraviral interactome, encouragingly supporting the biological coherence of our results. Importantly, these protein complexes represent most, if not all, of the essential steps required during a productive life cycle. Hence the central intraviral protein interactome could plausibly represent a minimal infectious interactome of the herpesvirus family across a variety of hosts. Our data, which have been integrated into our herpesvirus interactomics database, HVint2.0, could assist in creating comprehensive system-level computational models of this viral lineage

Institutional Grants: Investing in Student Retention and Graduation

This study examines how institutional expenditures and grants (student financial aid) relate to retention and graduation. It looks at this relationship over a 10-year period and examines differences between institutions with low- and high-admissions selectivity standards. In general, expenditures for institutional grants positively contributed to retention and graduation rates except at high-selectivity institutions, where institutional grants did not significantly contribute to retention and graduation rates