Publications by authors named "Ira"

Formation of templated insertions at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) is very common in cancer cells. The mechanisms and enzymes regulating these events are largely unknown. Here, we investigated templated insertions in yeast at DSBs using amplicon sequencing across a repaired locus.

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Objective: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are a known complication of lumbar fusion surgery. There is a scarcity of literature describing the management of this complication. The aim of this study was to identify patients who are at risk of requiring further intervention for managing CSF leaks.

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In metazoans mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or retrotransposon cDNA released to cytoplasm are degraded by nucleases to prevent sterile inflammation. It remains unknown whether degradation of these DNA also prevents nuclear genome instability. We used an amplicon sequencing-based method in yeast enabling analysis of millions of DSB repair products.

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Background: Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) is a non-invasive electrical stimulation technique that is typically used to probe the vestibular system. When using direct current or very low frequency sine, GVS causes postural sway or perception of illusory (virtual) motions. GVS is commonly delivered using two electrodes placed at the mastoids, however, placements involving additional electrodes / locations have been employed.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how templated insertions at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) occur in yeast, revealing that these insertions are usually short (5-34 base pairs) and formed through a foldback mechanism using microhomologies near the DSBs.
  • - The process relies on a hybrid mechanism where one end of the insertion requires DNA synthesis by Polδ, while the other end is linked through a nonhomologous end joining method, particularly affected in mutant strains with low RPA levels.
  • - The research suggests that the formation of these templated insertions, including complex ones with inverted sequences, may be heightened in cancer cells due to a shortage of RPA, which is associated with genomic instability.
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Purpose Of The Study: This manuscript aims to present the method of arthroscopic assisted subtalar arthrodesis and to evaluate the benefi ts of this surgery on our study population.

Material And Methods: In the period from 9/2007 to 1/2020, a total of 33 subtalar arthrodesis were performed in 31 patients aged 19-66 years (mean 48 years, median 50 years). The indication for arthrodesis was subtalar arthritis causing pain and gait disorders, or hindfoot deformities (most commonly after a calcaneus bone fracture).

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In metazoans release of mitochondrial DNA or retrotransposon cDNA to cytoplasm can cause sterile inflammation and disease . Cytoplasmic nucleases degrade these DNA species to limit inflammation . It remains unknown whether degradation these DNA also prevents nuclear genome instability.

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In metazoans release of mitochondrial DNA or retrotransposon cDNA to cytoplasm can cause sterile inflammation and disease. Cytoplasmic nucleases degrade these DNA species to limit inflammation. It remains unknown whether degradation these DNA also prevents nuclear genome instability.

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Augmented reality (AR) is a computer graphics technique that creates a seamless interface between the real and virtual worlds. AR usage rapidly spreads across diverse areas, such as healthcare, education, and entertainment. Despite its immense potential, AR interface controls rely on an external joystick, a smartphone, or a fixed camera system susceptible to lighting.

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Aims: The rare yeast species Lodderomyces elongisporus, Kodamaea ohmeri, Cyberlindnera fabianii, and Wickerhamomyces anomalus are increasingly implicated in severe mycoses in immunocompromised patients. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of uncommon yeast species in Côte d'Ivoire.

Methods: The yeast isolates from superficial samples, mainly vaginal swabs, were collected at the Pasteur Institute of Abidjan in a study on the molecular epidemiology of clinical yeast species.

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Article Synopsis
  • Break-Induced Replication (BIR) is a unique pathway within homologous recombination that involves significant DNA synthesis during the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, unlike typical DNA replication.
  • This process starts with the invasion of a single end of a DNA double-strand break, and requires Pif1 helicase for extensive repair-specific DNA synthesis, while being independent of the main helicase Mcm2-7.
  • The study outlines methods to investigate BIR, focusing on identifying enzymes specific to this pathway, analyzing the effects of mutants lacking extensive synthesis, and tracking the DNA synthesis process using yeast models.
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As medical training occurs during prime childbearing years, parental leave policies may affect the career and family choices of medical students. This cross-sectional study builds on existing research by quantifying the prevalence of formal policies for parental leave in highly ranked United States Medical Degree granting institutions, and analyzing the characteristics of those policies, with the objective of identifying existing best practices for future policy adopters to consider. Only 14% of the medical schools reviewed had substantive, stand-alone parental leave policies, and the majority of schools had leave of absence policies without mention of parental leave.

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Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure used to join two or more vertebrae to prevent movement between them. This surgical procedure is considered in patients suffering from a wide range of degenerative spinal diseases or vertebral fractures. The success rate of spinal fusion is frequently evaluated subjectively using X-ray computed tomography.

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Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) commonly occurs as intermediates in DNA metabolic pathways. The ssDNA binding protein, RPA, not only protects the integrity of ssDNA, but also directs the downstream factor that signals or repairs the ssDNA intermediate. However, it remains unclear how these enzymes/factors outcompete RPA to access ssDNA.

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Background: The present study aimed at characterizing the Djallonké Sheep (DS), the only local sheep breed raised in Guinea-Bissau. A total of 200 animals were sampled from four regions (Bafatá, Gabú, Oio and Cacheu) and described using 7 visual criteria and 8 measurements. These parameters have been studied by principal components analysis.

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Many growth factors have been studied as additives accelerating lumbar fusion rates in different animal models. However, their low hydrolytic and thermal stability both in vitro and in vivo limits their workability and use. In the proposed work, a stabilized vasculogenic and prohealing fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2-STAB) exhibiting a functional half-life in vitro at 37 °C more than 20 days was applied for lumbar fusion in combination with a bioresorbable scaffold on porcine models.

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Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) covered with the heterotrimeric Replication Protein A (RPA) complex is a central intermediate of DNA replication and repair. How RPA is regulated to ensure the fidelity of DNA replication and repair remains poorly understood. Yeast Rtt105 is an RPA-interacting protein required for RPA nuclear import and efficient ssDNA binding.

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Article Synopsis
  • DNA synthesis during homologous recombination can cause mutations and template switches, with two types of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) being repaired differently: gene conversion for two-ended DSBs and break-induced replication (BIR) for single-ended DSBs.
  • Two-ended DSBs typically undergo limited mutagenic DNA synthesis, while BIR can lead to extensive DNA synthesis and mutations, though the mechanisms that suppress BIR at two-ended DSBs are not fully understood.
  • The study reveals that certain proteins, including Rad52, Rad59, Mph1, and the Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 complex, work together to prevent BIR at two
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Experience and training in field work are critical components of undergraduate education in ecology, and many university courses incorporate field-based or experiential components into the curriculum in order to provide students hands-on experience. Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden shift to remote instruction in the spring of 2020, many instructors of such courses found themselves struggling to identify strategies for developing rigorous field activities that could be completed online, solo, and from a student's backyard. This case study illustrates the process by which one field-based course, a UC California Naturalist certification course offered at the University of California, Davis, transitioned to fully remote instruction.

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Break-induced replication (BIR) repairs one-ended double-strand breaks in DNA similar to those formed by replication collapse or telomere erosion, and it has been implicated in the initiation of genome instability in cancer and other human diseases. Previous studies have defined the enzymes that are required for BIR; however, understanding of initial and extended BIR synthesis, and of how the migrating D-loop proceeds through known replication roadblocks, has been precluded by technical limitations. Here we use a newly developed assay to show that BIR synthesis initiates soon after strand invasion and proceeds more slowly than S-phase replication.

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Tsetse flies are cyclical vectors of trypanosomes, the causative agents of sleeping sickness or Human African Trypanosomosis and nagana or African Animal Trypanosomosis in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Insectarium de Bobo-Dioulasso (IBD) was created and equipped in the frame of Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) with the main goal to provide sterile males for the different eradication programs in West Africa which is already the case with the ongoing eradication program in Senegal. The aim of this study was to identify the best feeding regime in mass-rearing colonies of Glossina palpalis gambiensis to optimize the yield of sterile males.

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The Rad51/RecA family of recombinases perform a critical function in typical repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs): strand invasion of a resected DSB end into a homologous double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) template sequence to initiate repair. However, repair of a DSB using single stranded DNA (ssDNA) as a template, a common method of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, is Rad51-independent. We have analyzed the genetic requirements for these Rad51-independent events in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by creating a DSB with the site-specific HO endonuclease and repairing the DSB with 80-nt single-stranded oligonucleotides (ssODNs), and confirmed these results by Cas9-mediated DSBs in combination with a bacterial retron system that produces ssDNA templates in vivo.

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DNA double-strand break (DSB) end resection is an essential step for homologous recombination. It generates 3' single-stranded DNA needed for the loading of the strand exchange proteins and DNA damage checkpoint proteins. To study the mechanism of end resection in fission yeast, we apply a robust, quantitative and inducible assay.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Rad52 is essential for homologous recombination (HR) in yeast, aiding in the assembly of Rad51-ssDNA filaments and facilitating DNA annealing.
  • - Rad52 has a crucial pre-HR function that restricts the resection of DNA double-stranded break ends, which is needed to generate single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) tails.
  • - In studies with fission yeast, Rad52 regulates the activity of resection nucleases like Exo1 and Rqh1, controlling the resection rate and competing with Sgs1 to limit ssDNA production.
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