Post-transcriptional regulation of neural stem cell fate by the RNaseIII Drosha

Stem cells are found in several organs where they are committed to differentiate into tissue specific somatic cells. In the developing and adult mammalian brain neural stem cells (NSCs) have the ability to differentiate into different cell types, the neurons and glia. NSCs differentiation is tightly regulated in order to ensure e.g. the correct formation of a six-layered isocortex during embryogenesis or in the adult to contribute to cognition. A major role in controlling NSC maintenance and differentiation plays post-transcriptional regulation. The RNaseIII Drosha, which is involved in miRNA biogenesis, was recently shown to directly inhibit specific mRNAs in a non-canonical, miRNA-independent manner, thereby controlling stem cell maintenance. It remained elusive if the non-canonical function of Drosha is also involved in cell fate decisions. During my PhD I investigated the role and requirement of Drosha in embryonic and adult NSC fate decision. During embryogenesis, cortical development is a temporal tightly organized process. First, deep-layer neurons are generated followed by upper-layer neurons. To study the role of Drosha in cortical development, I performed NSC-specific conditional knock-out (cKO) experiments. Drosha cKO at defined developmental stages revealed that early during development Drosha is involved in controlling the timing of deep- and upper-layer neuronal differentiation and NSC maintenance. My biochemical results suggest that Drosha regulates deep-layer specification by inhibiting the deep-layer specific transcription factor Ctip2 in a miRNA-independent manner. Under physiological conditions, adult hippocampal NSCs are bi-potent, giving rise to neurons and astrocytes but not to oligodendrocytes. However, when we deleted Drosha in hippocampal NSCs, they activated an oligodendrogenesis pathway. We demonstrated that Drosha inhibits oligodendrogenesis by directly repressing the expression of the transcription factor NFIB in a miRNA-independent manner by cleaving and destabilizing its mRNA. These results demonstrate that adult hippocampal NSCs intrinsically are multipotent but Drosha restricts their fate. In summary, the results of my PhD work show that Drosha plays a crucial role not only in NSC maintenance but also in NSC fate decision in the embryonic and adult brain. We find that during these processes, Drosha balances the expression of several differentiation factors thereby potentially fine-tuning the differentiation program. It will be of future interest to investigate how this specific miRNA-independent function of Drosha is targeted and if such a function is conserved in other stem cell populations

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Access to Education and Social Participation in Children and Adolescents with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND  Two-thirds of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have cognitive and neuropsychiatric problems. Concerning their quality of life, negative factors are the lack of qualifying education and social participation in sporting and leisure activities. Adapted assistance in education and participation in social life are thus important. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the pediatric population was less severely impacted by the disease, but by the restrictions associated. AIM  The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic regarding access to education and social participation for young patients with DMD in Switzerland. METHODS  We conducted a survey study from May to August 2021 assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to education and social participation in 8 to 18 years old patients with DMD in Switzerland. RESULTS  Of 60 sent surveys, 40 were returned and included. Mean age of participants was 13.5 years (±3.1 standard deviation); 23/40 of the participants were wheelchair bound, 21/40 attended a special school, and 19/40 a regular school. Of the 22/40 participants receiving assistance at school, 7/40 reported a change caused by the pandemic: for 5/7, the assistance was paused. Of the 12 boys and adolescents attending sporting activities, 10 had to suspend these. Nine attended other leisure activities; for 3/9, these activities were paused. CONCLUSION  The COVID-19 pandemic had direct effects on school assistance, sporting, and leisure activities in young patients with DMD in Switzerland. It is important to ensure that school assistance and leisure activities are rapidly resumed

PENGARUH PERBEDAAN PERSENTASE PENAMBAHAN SUSU FULL CREAM TERHADAP SIFAT FISIKOKIMIA DAN ORGANOLEPTIK ES KRIM BERAS MERAH

Red rice is a type of rice that is generally consumed by milling into red rice with husk still attached to the endosperm. In recent years the consumption of red rice in Indonesia begin increase and is popularized as a healthy lifestyle. One type of product that can be extended the use of red rice is red rice ice cream. Besides its high nutrition, red rice ice cream has a distinctive advantage of anthocyanin and also contains red rice flavor that characterizes the product. Ice cream has a creamy taste, easily melts in the mouth and soft texture. The texture is influenced by the presence of fat in the ice cream which helps to trap air (whipping process) that affect the amount and size of ice crystals formed. In this study the making of red rice ice cream is using red rice milk with a very small fat content in (1-2.9%), causing some differences in the physical and organoleptic properties of the ice cream. To help improve the texture of ice cream, the addition of full cream milk with a concentration of 8-13% is needed. The experimental design uses Randomized Block Design (RBD) which will be replicated five times for each treatment. Parameters that will be analysed in this study are the physicochemical parameters and organoleptic, including overrun percentage, hardness, melting rate, and organoleptic characteristics (texture, taste, flavor). Obtained data will be statistically analyzed to determine whether there are significant differences in the percentage of full cream milk powder to the parameters using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) at α = 5%. If there is a significance difference, then it will be continued with DMRT (Duncan’s Multiple Range Test) at α = 5% to determine which treatments were significantly different. The addition of full cream milk affect the overrun percentage, hardness, melting rate , and organoleptic characteristics (texture, flavor, taste) . The study result shows that overrun percentage is 16.58-22.77% and hardness is 89.07-1191.01 gram. The most preffered treatment is the addition of 13% full cream milk

Road traffic pollution and childhood leukemia: a nationwide case-control study in Italy

Background The association of childhood leukemia with traffic pollution was considered in a number of studies from 1989 onwards, with results not entirely consistent and little information regarding subtypes. Aim of the study We used the data of the Italian SETIL case-control on childhood leukemia to explore the risk by leukemia subtypes associated to exposure to vehicular traffic. Methods We included in the analyses 648 cases of childhood leukemia (565 Acute lymphoblastic–ALL and 80 Acute non lymphoblastic-AnLL) and 980 controls. Information on traffic exposure was collected from questionnaire interviews and from the geocoding of house addresses, for all periods of life of the children. Results We observed an increase in risk for AnLL, and at a lower extent for ALL, with indicators of exposure to traffic pollutants. In particular, the risk was associated to the report of closeness of the house to traffic lights and to the passage of trucks (OR: 1.76; 95% CI 1.03–3.01 for ALL and 6.35; 95% CI 2.59–15.6 for AnLL). The association was shown also in the analyses limited to AML and in the stratified analyses and in respect to the house in different period of life. Conclusions Results from the SETIL study provide some support to the association of traffic related exposure and risk for AnLL, but at a lesser extent for ALL. Our conclusion highlights the need for leukemia type specific analyses in future studies. Results support the need of controlling exposure from traffic pollution, even if knowledge is not complete

Multipotency of Adult Hippocampal NSCs In Vivo Is Restricted by Drosha/NFIB

Adult neural stem cells (NSCs) are defined by their inherent capacity to self-renew and give rise to neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. In vivo, however, hippocampal NSCs do not generate oligodendrocytes for reasons that have remained enigmatic. Here, we report that deletion of Drosha in adult dentate gyrus NSCs activates oligodendrogenesis and reduces neurogenesis at the expense of gliogenesis. We further find that Drosha directly targets NFIB to repress its expression independently of Dicer and microRNAs. Knockdown of NFIB in Drosha-deficient hippocampal NSCs restores neurogenesis, suggesting that the Drosha/NFIB mechanism robustly prevents oligodendrocyte fate acquisition in vivo. Taken together, our findings establish that adult hippocampal NSCs inherently possess multilineage potential but that Drosha functions as a molecular barrier preventing oligodendrogenesis

Mata merah menoreh: antologi artikel Bengkel Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia siswa SLTA kabupaten Kulon Progo

Buku antologi berjudul Mata Pena Menoreh ini adalah salah satu dari sekian banyak buku terbitan Balai Bahasa Daerah Isimewa Yogyakarta (2016) yang dimaksudkan sebagai pendukung program literasi. Buku ini berisi 38 artikel hasil proses kreatif siswa SLTA (SMA, SMK, MA) Kabupaten Kulon Progo selama mengikuti kegiatan Bengkel Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia 2016 yang diselenggarakan oleh Balai Bahasa Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. Diharapkan buku ini bermanfaat bagi pembaca, khususnya para remaja sebagai generasi penerus bangsa, agar senantiasa aktif dan kreatif dalam menjaga dan menumbuhkan tradisi literasi

Exacerbated fires in Mediterranean Europe due to anthropogenic warming projected with non-stationary climate-fire models

The observed trend towards warmer and drier conditions in southern Europe is projected to continue in the next decades, possibly leading to increased risk of large fires. However, an assessment of climate change impacts on fires at and above the 1.5 °C Paris target is still missing. Here, we estimate future summer burned area in Mediterranean Europe under 1.5, 2, and 3 °C global warming scenarios, accounting for possible modifications of climate-fire relationships under changed climatic conditions owing to productivity alterations. We found that such modifications could be beneficial, roughly halving the fire-intensifying signals. In any case, the burned area is robustly projected to increase. The higher the warming level is, the larger is the increase of burned area, ranging from ~40% to ~100% across the scenarios. Our results indicate that significant benefits would be obtained if warming were limited to well below 2 °C

IHAMZ Guideline: Synkope

Die Guidelines (synonym Leitlinien) des Instituts für Hausarztmedizin der Universität Zürich (IHAMZ) sind systematisch entwickelte Übersichtsarbeiten in kompaktem Format auf der Basis international gültiger Leitlinien, sowie von Daten aus Metaanalysen und Studien der besten verfügbaren Evidenz. Die IHAMZ-Guidelines fokussieren sich auf die allgemeinmedizinische Grundversorgung, sie geben dabei auch Orientierung bei der Koordination von haus- und spezialärztlicher Betreuung sowie beim Übergang zwischen ambulantem und stationärem Versorgungssektor und berücksichtigen Besonderheiten des Schweizer Gesundheitssystems. Die Handlungsempfehlungen der IHAMZ-Guidelines werden entsprechend der Bezug nehmenden Quellleitlinie(n) nach der Empfehlungsstärke und Qualität ihrer wissenschaftlichen Grundlage in Evidenzlevel graduiert, im Fall der vorliegenden Guideline gemäss dem Klassifizierungssystem der European Society of Cardiology (ESC)