Analysis of the role of Sgs1p in repair of double-strand DNA breaks in \u3ci\u3eSaccharomyces cerevisiae\u3c/i\u3e

Mis-repair of DNA double-stranded breaks (DSB) can result in genomic rearrangements and cancer. Sgs1p is a helicase that unwinds DNA for DSB repair. To better understand its role in break repair, I analyzed the frequency of various types of DSB repairs in yeast cells with the mutation sgs1-FD. Given this mutation disrupts an interaction between Sgs1p and a critical protein, Rad51p, I hypothesized mutant cells would have more error-prone repair than high fidelity canonical BIR repair. Genome sequence and chromosome size were examined in sgs1-FD yeast cells that underwent DSB repair. No difference was found in the frequency of error-prone repair, indicating the mutation did not affect the repair process

Genome-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis in maize

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Expression QTL analyses have shed light on transcriptional regulation in numerous species of plants, animals, and yeasts. These microarray-based analyses identify regulators of gene expression as either cis-acting factors that regulate proximal genes, or trans-acting factors that function through a variety of mechanisms to affect transcript abundance of unlinked genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A hydroponics-based genetical genomics study in roots of a <it>Zea mays </it>IBM2 Syn10 double haploid population identified tens of thousands of cis-acting and trans-acting eQTL. Cases of false-positive eQTL, which results from the lack of complete genomic sequences from both parental genomes, were described. A candidate gene for a trans-acting regulatory factor was identified through positional cloning. The unexpected regulatory function of a class I glutamine amidotransferase controls the expression of an ABA 8'-hydroxylase pseudogene.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Identification of a candidate gene underlying a trans-eQTL demonstrated the feasibility of eQTL cloning in maize and could help to understand the mechanism of gene expression regulation. Lack of complete genome sequences from both parents could cause the identification of false-positive cis- and trans-acting eQTL.</p

The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli 'Avoda Zara

In this dissertation, I argue that there is an ethical dimension to the Babylonian Talmud, and that literary analysis is the approach best suited to uncover it. Paying special attention to the discursive forms of the Talmud, I show how juxtapositions of narrative and legal dialectics cooperate in generating the Talmud's distinctive ethics, which I characterize as an attentiveness to the "exceptional particulars" of life. To demonstrate the features and rewards of a literary approach, I offer a sustained reading of a single tractate from the Babylonian Talmud, Avoda Zara (AZ). AZ and other talmudic discussions about non-Jews offer a rich resource for considerations of ethics because they are centrally concerned with constituting social relationships and with examining aspects of human experience that exceed the domain of Jewish law. AZ investigates what distinguishes Jews from non-Jews, what Jews and non-Jews share in common, and what it means to be a human being. I read AZ as a cohesive literary work unified by the overarching project of examining the place of humanity in the cosmos. The talmudic materials are organized as a journey down the cosmic chain of being, from the supernal realm of souls and spirit, to the material world of embodied, animal existence, to the inanimate domain of physical objects. In tracing this descent, I discover in AZ the outlines of a rabbinic anthropology that affirms the common humanity of Jews and non-Jews, and highlights the role of Jewish law in constituting Jewish difference. As I make my way through AZ, I bring the talmudic text into dialogue with critical insights and issues from philosophy and literary theory. Pointing to ways that the editors of AZ engage the philosophic currents of their time, I challenge the prevailing characterization of the Bavli editors as inwardly focused. Even more important, I explore how AZ engages the critical questions of our time--questions of identity and alterity, of universalism and particularism, of justice and community

The Humanity of the Talmud: Reading for Ethics in Bavli 'Avoda Zara

In this dissertation, I argue that there is an ethical dimension to the Babylonian Talmud, and that literary analysis is the approach best suited to uncover it. Paying special attention to the discursive forms of the Talmud, I show how juxtapositions of narrative and legal dialectics cooperate in generating the Talmud's distinctive ethics, which I characterize as an attentiveness to the "exceptional particulars" of life. To demonstrate the features and rewards of a literary approach, I offer a sustained reading of a single tractate from the Babylonian Talmud, Avoda Zara (AZ). AZ and other talmudic discussions about non-Jews offer a rich resource for considerations of ethics because they are centrally concerned with constituting social relationships and with examining aspects of human experience that exceed the domain of Jewish law. AZ investigates what distinguishes Jews from non-Jews, what Jews and non-Jews share in common, and what it means to be a human being. I read AZ as a cohesive literary work unified by the overarching project of examining the place of humanity in the cosmos. The talmudic materials are organized as a journey down the cosmic chain of being, from the supernal realm of souls and spirit, to the material world of embodied, animal existence, to the inanimate domain of physical objects. In tracing this descent, I discover in AZ the outlines of a rabbinic anthropology that affirms the common humanity of Jews and non-Jews, and highlights the role of Jewish law in constituting Jewish difference. As I make my way through AZ, I bring the talmudic text into dialogue with critical insights and issues from philosophy and literary theory. Pointing to ways that the editors of AZ engage the philosophic currents of their time, I challenge the prevailing characterization of the Bavli editors as inwardly focused. Even more important, I explore how AZ engages the critical questions of our time--questions of identity and alterity, of universalism and particularism, of justice and community

Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals The Talmud after the Humanities

In Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals, Mira Beth Wasserman undertakes a close reading of Avoda Zara, arguably the Babylonian Talmud's most scandalous tractate. According to Wasserman, Avoda Zara is where this Talmud joins the humanities in questioning what it means to be a human.Cover -- Contents -- A Note on Sources, Usage, and Transliteration -- Introduction -- 1. The Sense of a Beginning -- 2. Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals -- 3. Leaky Vessels -- 4. Ethics and Objects -- 5. The Last Laugh -- Notes -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- AcknowledgmentsIn Jews, Gentiles, and Other Animals, Mira Beth Wasserman undertakes a close reading of Avoda Zara, arguably the Babylonian Talmud's most scandalous tractate. According to Wasserman, Avoda Zara is where this Talmud joins the humanities in questioning what it means to be a human.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries

Epidemiology and Correlates of Self-Reported Academic Dysfunction Following a Concussion in High School and College Students

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Rochester. School of Medicine & Dentistry. Dept. of Public Health Sciences, 2015.Background Concussions place a tremendous health burden on student athletes. Following concussion, individuals experience somatic symptoms (e.g., headache, dizziness), cognitive difficulties (e.g., impaired concentration, memory loss), sleep disturbance, and altered mood. These symptoms can impair concussed students’ ability to perform at their maximum academic potential; however, there is a paucity of research examining academic dysfunction (i.e., inability to perform at a normal academic level) among students who have had concussions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students with a sports-related concussion experience greater academic dysfunction following injury than students who sustain other injuries, and to what extent concussive sequelae influence academic dysfunction. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study in which we recruited 70 concussed high school or college students and a comparison group of 107 students with extremity injuries from three emergency departments. We compared self-reported academic dysfunction between the two groups at one week and one month post-injury. We also assessed post-concussive symptoms, mood disturbance, sleep disturbance and cognition. We compared the prevalence and patterns of these sequelae between groups and measured the sequelae’s influence on the association between concussion and selfreported academic dysfunction. Results Compared to students with extremity injuries, concussed students had worse symptoms and mood disturbance one week post-injury; however, there was no difference in cognition, and sleep disturbance was worse in the extremity injury group. The concussed group had academic dysfunction scores 16 points higher (β=15.65, 95% CI: 5.81, 25.50) than the extremity injury group one week post-injury. One month post-injury, there were no differences between the groups in sequelae or academic dysfunction. The relationship between concussion and academic dysfunction was partially explained by symptom burden, self-reported confusion and depression. Females, high school students and previously concussed individuals were particularly vulnerable to the effects of concussion. Conclusions Concussed students experience greater academic dysfunction than students with an extremity injury at one week post-injury, but not at one month post-injury. We identified susceptible subgroups that may require more aggressive intervention to decrease academic dysfunction. Further investigation into the precise timing of recovery for concussed students and appropriate types of intervention is required

Noncanonical outcomes of break-induced replication produce complex, extremely long-tract gene conversion events in yeast

Long-tract gene conversions (LTGC) can result from the repair of collapsed replication forks, and several mechanisms have been proposed to explain how the repair process produces this outcome. We studied LTGC events produced from repair collapsed forks at yeast fragile site FS2. Our analysis included chromosome sizing by contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis, next-generation whole-genome sequencing, and Sanger sequencing across repair event junctions. We compared the sequence and structure of LTGC events in our cells to the expected qualities of LTGC events generated by proposed mechanisms. Our evidence indicates that some LTGC events arise from half-crossover during BIR, some LTGC events arise from gap repair, and some LTGC events can be explained by either gap repair or “late” template switch during BIR. Also based on our data, we propose that models of collapsed replication forks be revised to show not a one-end double-strand break (DSB), but rather a two-end DSB in which the ends are separated in time and subject to gap repair