Turning end-joining upside down in mitosis.

How cells deal with DNA breaks during mitosis is not well understood. While canonical non-homologous end-joining predominates in interphase, it is inhibited in mitosis to avoid telomere fusions. DNA polymerase θ mediated end-joining appears to be repressed in interphase, but promotes break repair in mitosis.

POLθ-mediated end joining is restricted by RAD52 and BRCA2 until the onset of mitosis.

BRCA2-mutant cells are defective in homologous recombination, making them vulnerable to the inactivation of other pathways for the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). This concept can be clinically exploited but is currently limited due to insufficient knowledge about how DSBs are repaired in the absence of BRCA2. We show that DNA polymerase θ (POLθ)-mediated end joining (TMEJ) repairs DSBs arising during the S phase in BRCA2-deficient cells only after the onset of the ensuing mitosis.

Long-term Consequences of Criminal Justice System Intervention: The Impact of Young Adult Arrest on Midlife Health Behaviors.

While there is a growing literature on the relationship between incarceration and health, few studies have expanded the investigation of criminal justice system involvement and health to include the more common intervention of arrest. This study uses a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the long-term effect of arrest in young adulthood on health behaviors in midlife for African Americans. We use propensity score matching methods and gender-specific multivariate regression analyses to equate those who did and did not incur an arrest in young adulthood from a subsample (n = 683) of the Woodlawn cohort, an African American community cohort followed from childhood into midlife.

What's drugs got to do with it? Examining the relationship between drug onset and duration with criminal outcomes in an African American cohort.

Background: The association of drug use onset and duration with criminal careers has rarely been studied over the life course among African Americans, who are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system.

Methods: This study uses data from a community cohort of urban African Americans, first assessed at age 6 (n = 1242) and followed into midlife. Data come from both self-reports (n = 1053 in adulthood) and official crime records (n = 1217).