Tao-1 Phosphorylates Hippo/MST Kinases to Regulate the Hippo-Salvador-Warts Tumor Suppressor Pathway

SummaryRecent studies have shown that the Hippo-Salvador-Warts (HSW) pathway restrains tissue growth by phosphorylating and inactivating the oncoprotein Yorkie. How growth-suppressive signals are transduced upstream of Hippo remains unclear. We show that the Sterile 20 family kinase, Tao-1, directly phosphorylates T195 in the Hippo activation loop and that, like other HSW pathway genes, Tao-1 functions to restrict cell proliferation in developing imaginal epithelia. This relationship appears to be evolutionarily conserved, because mammalian Tao-1 similarly affects MST kinases. In S2 cells, Tao-1 mediates the effects of the upstream HSW components Merlin and Expanded, consistent with the idea that Tao-1 functions in tissues to regulate Hippo phosphorylation. These results demonstrate that one family of Ste20 kinases can activate another and identify Tao-1 as a component of the regulatory network controlling HSW pathway signaling, and therefore tissue growth, during development

Risks of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for sustainable water recycling via aquifers

The prediction of the fate of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water recycling with urban stormwater and treated wastewater is important since PFAS are widely used, persistent, and have potential impacts on human health and the environment. These alternative water sources have been utilized for water recycling via aquifers or managed aquifer recharge (MAR). However, the fate of these chemicals in MAR schemes and the potential impact in terms of regulation have not been studied. PFAS can potentially be transported long distances in the subsurface during MAR. This article reviews the potential risks to MAR systems using recycled water and urban stormwater. To date, there are insufficient data to determine if PFAS can be degraded by natural processes or retained in the aquifer and become suitable pre-treatment or post-treatment technologies that will need to be employed depending upon the end use of the recovered water. The use of engineered pre-treatment or post-treatment methods needs to be based on a ‘fit for purpose’ principle and carefully integrated with the proposed water end use to ensure that human and environmental health risks are appropriately managed

Colloid Release and Clogging in Porous Media: Effects of Solution Ionic Strength and Flow Velocity

The release and retention of in-situ colloids in aquifers play an important role in the sustainable operation of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) schemes. The processes of colloid release, retention, and associated permeability changes in consolidated aquifer sediments were studied by displacing native groundwater with reverse osmosis-treated (RO) water at various flow velocities. Significant amounts of colloid release occurred when: (i) the native groundwater was displaced by RO-water with a low ionic strength (IS), and (ii) the flow velocity was increased in a stepwise manner. The amount of colloid release and associated permeability reduction upon RO-water injection depended on the initial clay content of the core. The concentration of released colloids was relatively low and the permeability reduction was negligible for the core sample with a low clay content of about 1.3%. In contrast, core samples with about 6 and 7.5% clay content exhibited: (i) close to two orders of magnitude increase in effluent colloid concentration and (ii) more than 65% permeability reduction. Incremental improvement in the core permeability was achieved when the flow velocity increased, whereas a short flow interruption provided a considerable increase in the core permeability.This dependence of colloid release and permeability changes on flow velocity and colloid concentration was consistent with colloid retention and release at pore constrictions due to the mechanism of hydrodynamic bridging. A mathematical model was formulated to describe the processes of colloid release, transport, retention at pore constrictions, and subsequent permeability changes. Our experimental and modeling results indicated that only a small fraction of the in-situ colloids was released for any given change in the IS or flow velocity. Comparison of the fitted and experimentally measured effluent colloid concentrations and associated changes in the core permeability showed good agreement, indicating that the essential physics were accurately captured by the model

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P. Fahriye'nin Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete'de tefrika edilen Dilfikar adlı roman

Urbanisation and emerging economies: issues and potential solutions for water and food security

Urbanisation will be one of the 21st century's most transformative trends. By 2050, it will increase from 55% to 68%, more than doubling the urban population in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Urbanisation has multifarious (positive as well as negative) impacts on the wellbeing of humans and the environment. The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) form the blueprint to achieve a sustainable future for all. Clean Water and Sanitation is a specific goal (SDG 6) within the suite of 17 interconnected goals. Here we provide an overview of some of the challenges that urbanisation poses in relation to SDG 6, especially in developing economies. Worldwide, several cities are on the verge of water crisis. Water distribution to informal settlements or slums in megacities (e.g. N50% population in the megacities of India) is essentially non-existent and limits access to adequate safe water supply. Besides due to poor sewer connectivity in the emerging economies, there is a heavy reliance on septic tanks, and other on-site sanitation (OSS) system and by 2030, 4.9 billion people are expected to rely on OSS. About 62–93% of the urban population in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Indonesia rely on septic tanks, where septage treatment is rare. Globally, over 80% of wastewater is released to the environment without adequate treatment. About 11% of all irrigated croplands is irrigated with such untreated or poorly treated wastewater. In addition to acute and chronic health effects, this also results in significant pollution of often-limited surface and groundwater resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Direct and indirect water reuse plays a key role in global water and food security. Here we offer several suggestions to mitigate water and food insecurity in emerging economies

Community management of onsite wastewater treatment systems- what they want in Mount Gambier, South Australia

Effective management of onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) is important in preventing contamination of ecologically sensitive receiving environments, such as surface water and groundwater used for human consumption or contact. Householders play a key role in OWTS management, therefore inadequate householder knowledge of system function, inability to recognise signs of system failures and lack of understanding of maintenance requirements can increase the risk of system failure. A householder survey and community consultation process have been undertaken in conjunction with a biophysical effluent sampling program to reveal community understanding of OWTS, opinions on preferred management strategies, institutional arrangements and possible reactions to future financial costs to householders. Opinions from workshop participants and other stakeholders suggested their community wanted knowledge regarding OWTS functioning and maintenance, in particular, information on the use of suitable household chemicals to maintain treatment performance and continued research into contamination of groundwater sources by wastewater systems to better inform wastewater management strategies. Community participants were divided on the preferred administration and cost of maintenance, with some wanting to retain responsibility for maintenance arrangements by contracting specialised personnel and others suggesting local authorities should take responsibility

Assessing the Impact of Recycled Water Quality and Clogging on Infiltration Rates at A Pioneering Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) Site in Alice Springs, Northern Territory (NT), Australia

Infiltration techniques for managed aquifer recharge (MAR), such as soil aquifer treatment (SAT) can facilitate low-cost water recycling and supplement groundwater resources. However there are still challenges in sustaining adequate infiltration rates in the presence of lower permeability sediments, especially when wastewater containing suspended solids and nutrients is used to recharge the aquifer. To gain a better insight into reductions in infiltration rates during MAR, a field investigation was carried out via soil aquifer treatment (SAT) using recharge basins located within a mixture of fine and coarse grained riverine deposits in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. A total of 2.6 Mm3 was delivered via five SAT basins over six years; this evaluation focused on three years of operation (2011–2014), recharging 1.5 Mm3 treated wastewater via an expanded recharge area of approximately 38,400 m2. Average infiltration rates per basin varied from 0.1 to 1 m/day due to heterogeneous soil characteristics and variability in recharge water quality. A treatment upgrade to include sand filtration and UV disinfection (in 2013) prior to recharge improved the average infiltration rate per basin by 40% to 100%