23 research outputs found
Christian Bason: Design for public service
No full textChristian Bason is the Chief Executive of the Danish Design Center, which works to advance the use of design in business and society. From 2007 to 2014, he was Director of MindLab, the Danish cross-governmental innovation team. Prior to this he was a consultant and business manager with the international advisory group Ramboll. Christian is the author of multiple books on innovation and design in government, including Leading Public Design: Discovering Human-Centred Governance (2017), Design for Policy (2014) and Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-creating for a Better Society (2010)
Cell-autonomous and non-cell autonomous protection of DNAJB6 in Huntington’s disease
No full textSeveral neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s disease are initiated by protein aggregation in neurons. These diseases are also associated with a multitude of responses in non-neuronal cells in the brain, in particular glial cells, like astrocytes. These non-neuronal responses have been repeatedly suggested to play a disease-modulating role, but how these may be exploited to delay the progression of neurodegeneration has remained unclear. Interestingly, one of the molecular changes that astrocytes undergo includes the upregulation of certain Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) that are classically considered to maintain protein homeostasis. The aim of this thesis was to explore how a specific HSP not only may provide protection when expressed in the neurons (cell autonomous protection), but also if and how it might be neuroprotective when exclusively expressed in astrocytes (non-cell autonomous protection). To test this, we developed a Drosophila melanogaster model system for Huntington’s disease and used DNAJB6, a potent cell autonomous protective HSP against huntingtin-related neurodegeneration. We show that expression of DNAJB6 in neurons protects against huntingtin aggregation in the brain and delays the onset of degeneration. When expressed in astrocytes DNAJB6 also delays the onset of neurodegeneration, but not by reducing aggregate load in the brain. Rather, our data suggest that DNAJB6 keeps astrocytes fit to take over the aggregate burden from the affected neurons, such that neighboring neurons are spared from the so-called spreading of aggregates throughout the brain
Map of the world taken from an Arabian manuscript of Al Edrisi in the Bodleian Library [cartographic material] /
No full text"The author lived in the 12th Century. The manuscript is of the 15th NB The Arabian geographers represent the world as an egg floating in a Bason of water".; Facsimile.; Map of the world with relief shown pictorially.; Rex Nan Kivell Collection Map NK 4852
Identification and stage-specific association with the translational apparatus of TbZFP3, a CCCH protein that promotes trypanosome life-cycle development
No full textThe post-transcriptional control of gene expression is becoming increasingly important in the understanding of regulated events in eukaryotic cells. The parasitic kinetoplastids have a unique reliance on such processes, because their genome is organized into polycistronic transcription units in which adjacent genes are not coordinately regulated. Indeed, the number of RNA-binding proteins predicted to be encoded in the genome of kinetoplastids is unusually large, invoking the presence of unique RNA regulators dedicated to gene expression in these evolutionarily ancient organisms. Here, we report that a small CCCH zinc finger protein, TbZFP3, enhances development between life-cycle stages in Trypanosoma brucei. Moreover, we demonstrate that this protein interacts both with the translational machinery and with other small CCCH proteins previously implicated in trypanosome developmental control. Antibodies to this protein also co-immunoprecipitate EP procyclin mRNA and encode the major surface antigen of insect forms of T. brucei. Strikingly, although TbZFP3 is constitutively expressed, it exhibits developmentally regulated association with polyribosomes, and mutational analysis demonstrates that this association is essential for the expression of phenotype. TbZFP3 is therefore a novel regulator of developmental events in kinetoplastids that acts at the level of the post-transcriptional control of gene expression
Bason, Fred, (Frederick Thomas Bason), (29 Aug. 1907–2 July 1973), bookseller since 1922; author since 1931; Lecturer on authors, books and collecting books since 1941
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Initial Impact of the Gabíkovo Hydroelectric Scheme on the Species Richness and Composition of 0+ Fish Assemblages in the Slovak Flood Plain, River Danube
No full textRelatively little information exists on the effects of hydroelectric schemes on 0+ fish composition in large European rivers because few or no pre-impact data exist. We compared 0+ fish species richness and composition, relative density, fish size as well as available and used habitat using data from 12 floodplain sites sampled just prior to (1992) and four years after (1996) the start of operations of the Gabíkovo hydropower station on the River Danube (Slovakia). We also used modelling techniques to assess the change in species richness and habitat use and to predict 1996 occurrences from the 1992 data set. The floodplain was greatly modified by the hydroscheme. Only 12 of 27 sites sampled in August 1992 were extant in August 1996. Therefore, all four channel types identified (flowing, abandoned, weir, wing-dam) were more lentic in 1996 than in 1992, with increased width, smaller-sized sediment (silt, clay) and greater amounts of macrophytes. After the operations of the hydroscheme, the overall relative density of fishes (individuals per surface area) of all ages decreased, with the exception of 0+ fishes, despite a slight reduction in 0+ fish density in all channel types except weirs. Species number increased from 25 to 28, although in all channel types there was a change in the composition of the 0+ fish assemblages, with rheophiles generally replaced by limnophiles and migrants from the lower Danube. The two most important microhabitat variables were the proportion of macrophytes and gravel, the latter being the factor distinguishing 0+ fish microhabitat use in 1992 (preferences) and 1996 (indifference or avoidance). Species richness and 0+ fish density in 1996 could be predicted from the 1992 data using simple log-linear models (density, richness, sample number). Species-specific occurrence in 1996 could not be predicted using environmental/fish data from 1992 with multiple regression or generalized additive models (GAM). However, the overall GAM from 1992 could predict overall fish occurrence in 1996
Exploring reported causes of vaccine hesitancy among European adolescents and parents: results of a citizen science project
No full textAbstract Background Progress in pediatric immunization is threatened by vaccine hesitancy. While recent estimates show 14–35% of European parents exhibit some degree of hesitancy, little is known about adolescents. We assessed vaccine hesitancy and associated factors in European adolescents and parents through the online Science4Pandemics platform. Methods We conducted two cross-sectional surveys. One in individuals aged ≥ 12 and < 18 years, using a non-validated questionnaire adapted from the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV); and another using the PACV questionnaire in parents aged ≥ 18 years, who were not necessarily related to the adolescents. Results 1877 adolescents from Italy, Portugal, Poland and Spain were included. Of these, 45.9% were aged 12–14 years, and 54.1% were 15–17 years. The prevalence of hesitancy (adapted PACV score ≥ 50%) was 20.8% (390 individuals). Hesitancy prevalence varied between countries, from 12.5% in Spain to 31.6% in Poland (p < 0.001). Geographic region was the only associated factor for hesitancy [Odds Ratio (OR) for Polish adolescents: 3.20 (95%CI: 2.29, 4.51); OR for Italian adolescents: 2.28 (95%CI: 1.62, 3.24); OR for Portuguese adolescents: 1.13 (95%CI: 0.77, 1.66); all compared to Spanish adolescents]. Country remained the only associated factor in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. In contrast, 1135 parents of children under 18 were included, with hesitancy observed in 20.4% (232 individuals). The main associated factors for hesitancy, both in the univariate and multivariate analyses, were country of residence [OR for Italian parents: 2.34 (95%CI: 1.47, 3.80); OR for Polish parents: 2.69 (95%CI: 1.70, 4.36); OR for Portuguese parents: 2.26 (95%CI: 1.41, 3.68); all compared to Spanish parents], and age, with older parents being less hesitant (OR: 0.97, 95%CI: 0.96, 1.00). In both parents and adolescents, the main reasons for vaccine hesitancy were fear of vaccine side effects (56.1% in adolescents, 51.9% in parents) and lack of trust in government recommendations (21.9% in adolescents, 22.8% in parents). Conclusions Vaccine hesitancy in adolescents and parents in Europe is prevalent, with country of residence as a key influencing factor. Targeted strategies to educate both groups about immunization benefits and its side effects are essential, considering the heterogeneity across countries and reasons for hesitancy
Terrestrial very-long-baseline atom interferometry: summary of the second workshop
No full textThis summary of the second Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry (TVLBAI) Workshop provides a comprehensive overview of our meeting held in London in April 2024, building on the initial discussions during the inaugural workshop held at CERN in March 2023. Like the summary of the first workshop, this document records a critical milestone for the international atom interferometry community. It documents our concerted efforts to evaluate progress, address emerging challenges, and refine strategic directions for future large-scale atom interferometry projects. Our commitment to collaboration is manifested by the integration of diverse expertise and the coordination of international resources, all aimed at advancing the frontiers of atom interferometry physics and technology, as set out in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by over 50 institutions
