Development of an Integrated System for Ozone Treated Harvested Rainwater in Perspective of Green Building Scenario of Malaysia

In this study an integrated system for rainwater harvesting and ozone treatment has been developed for continuous supply of drinkable water. In the perspective of Malaysian scenario ozone treatment of rainwater is still considered a new approach. This pilot project is launched to justify the reliability, the effectiveness and the economic aspect of ozone treated rainwater. The samples of rainwater were analyzed for both physiochemical and microbiological parameters before and after the ozone treatment. The injection of ozone has shown prominent improvement in both parameters and also the quality up gradation of the original rainwater. The results are encouraging and suggest that the technique is promising to fulfil both requirements continuous supply of rainwater as well as accomplish successful ozone treatment. The system can readily be installed at any location and measurements assure that it could certainly provide an alternative water source when conventional piped supply is unavailable. In the perspective of Green Building scenario this integrated approach of ozone treated harvested rainwater might be able to reduce the impact of environmental factors. Keywords: Ozone treatment, Rainwater quality improvement, Water quality, Disinfection with ozone, Green building concept

Wdpcp, a PCP Protein Required for Ciliogenesis, Regulates Directional Cell Migration and Cell Polarity by Direct Modulation of the Actin Cytoskeleton

Planar cell polarity (PCP) regulates cell alignment required for collective cell movement during embryonic development. This requires PCP/PCP effector proteins, some of which also play essential roles in ciliogenesis, highlighting the long-standing question of the role of the cilium in PCP. Wdpcp, a PCP effector, was recently shown to regulate both ciliogenesis and collective cell movement, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here we show Wdpcp can regulate PCP by direct modulation of the actin cytoskeleton. These studies were made possible by recovery of a Wdpcp mutant mouse model. Wdpcp-deficient mice exhibit phenotypes reminiscent of Bardet-Biedl/Meckel-Gruber ciliopathy syndromes, including cardiac outflow tract and cochlea defects associated with PCP perturbation. We observed Wdpcp is localized to the transition zone, and in Wdpcp-deficient cells, Sept2, Nphp1, and Mks1 were lost from the transition zone, indicating Wdpcp is required for recruitment of proteins essential for ciliogenesis. Wdpcp is also found in the cytoplasm, where it is localized in the actin cytoskeleton and in focal adhesions. Wdpcp interacts with Sept2 and is colocalized with Sept2 in actin filaments, but in Wdpcp-deficient cells, Sept2 was lost from the actin cytoskeleton, suggesting Wdpcp is required for Sept2 recruitment to actin filaments. Significantly, organization of the actin filaments and focal contacts were markedly changed in Wdpcp-deficient cells. This was associated with decreased membrane ruffling, failure to establish cell polarity, and loss of directional cell migration. These results suggest the PCP defects in Wdpcp mutants are not caused by loss of cilia, but by direct disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. Consistent with this, Wdpcp mutant cochlea has normal kinocilia and yet exhibits PCP defects. Together, these findings provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, that a PCP component required for ciliogenesis can directly modulate the actin cytoskeleton to regulate cell polarity and directional cell migration

A family of dual-activity glycosyltransferasesphosphorylases mediates mannogen turnover and virulence in Leishmania parasites

Parasitic protists belonging to the genus Leishmania synthesize the non-canonical carbohydrate reserve, mannogen, which is composed of β-1,2-mannan oligosaccharides. Here, we identify a class of dual-activity mannosyltransferase/phosphorylases (MTPs) that catalyze both the sugar nucleotide-dependent biosynthesis and phosphorolytic turnover of mannogen. Structural and phylogenic analysis shows that while the MTPs are structurally related to bacterial mannan phosphorylases, they constitute a distinct family of glycosyltransferases (GT108) that have likely been acquired by horizontal gene transfer from gram-positive bacteria. The seven MTPs catalyze the constitutive synthesis and turnover of mannogen. This metabolic rheostat protects obligate intracellular parasite stages from nutrient excess, and is essential for thermotolerance and parasite infectivity in the mammalian host. Our results suggest that the acquisition and expansion of the MTP family in Leishmania increased the metabolic flexibility of these protists and contributed to their capacity to colonize new host niches

Emerging evidence of a link between the polycystins and the mTOR pathways

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a genetic disease characterized by the formation of renal cysts. This disease can be caused by mutations in two genes, PKD1 and PKD2, which encode polycystin-1 (PC-1) and -2 (PC-2), respectively

Serrano (Sano) Functions with the Planar Cell Polarity Genes to Control Tracheal Tube Length

Epithelial tubes are the functional units of many organs, and proper tube geometry is crucial for organ function. Here, we characterize serrano (sano), a novel cytoplasmic protein that is apically enriched in several tube-forming epithelia in Drosophila, including the tracheal system. Loss of sano results in elongated tracheae, whereas Sano overexpression causes shortened tracheae with reduced apical boundaries. Sano overexpression during larval and pupal stages causes planar cell polarity (PCP) defects in several adult tissues. In Sano-overexpressing pupal wing cells, core PCP proteins are mislocalized and prehairs are misoriented; sano loss or overexpression in the eye disrupts ommatidial polarity and rotation. Importantly, Sano binds the PCP regulator Dishevelled (Dsh), and loss or ectopic expression of many known PCP proteins in the trachea gives rise to similar defects observed with loss or gain of sano, revealing a previously unrecognized role for PCP pathway components in tube size control

Ciliopathies: an expanding disease spectrum

Ciliopathies comprise a group of disorders associated with genetic mutations encoding defective proteins, which result in either abnormal formation or function of cilia. As cilia are a component of almost all vertebrate cells, cilia dysfunction can manifest as a constellation of features that include characteristically, retinal degeneration, renal disease and cerebral anomalies. Additional manifestations include congenital fibrocystic diseases of the liver, diabetes, obesity and skeletal dysplasias. Ciliopathic features have been associated with mutations in over 40 genes to date. However, with over 1,000 polypeptides currently identified within the ciliary proteome, several other disorders associated with this constellation of clinical features will likely be ascribed to mutations in other ciliary genes. The mechanisms underlying many of the disease phenotypes associated with ciliary dysfunction have yet to be fully elucidated. Several elegant studies have crucially demonstrated the dynamic ciliary localisation of components of the Hedgehog and Wnt signalling pathways during signal transduction. Given the critical role of the cilium in transducing “outside-in” signals, it is not surprising therefore, that the disease phenotypes consequent to ciliary dysfunction are a manifestation of aberrant signal transduction. Further investigation is now needed to explore the developmental and physiological roles of aberrant signal transduction in the manifestation of ciliopathy phenotypes. Utilisation of conditional and inducible murine models to delete or overexpress individual ciliary genes in a spatiotemporal and organ/cell-specific manner should help clarify some of the functional roles of ciliary proteins in the manifestation of phenotypic features

Functional modulation of caecal fermentation and microbiota in rat by feeding bean husk as a dietary fibre supplement

A feeding study using rats was conducted to evaluate the utility of lablab bean husk and soya bean husk as sources of potential prebiotic fibre. Twenty 5-week-old Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups and fed one of the following diets for 3 weeks: purified diet (AIN93 G) containing 5% cellulose (CEL), or the same diet in which cellulose was replaced by corn starch (STA), lablab bean husk (LBH), or soya bean husk (SBH). Rats were sacrificed at 8 weeks of age and caecal digesta were collected. Feed intake, body weight, anatomical parameters, and caecal ammonia level did not differ significantly among diets. Rats on LBH and SBH showed higher concentrations of caecal short-chain fatty acid and lactate than those on CEL. Rats on CEL, SBH, and LBH exhibited lower caecal indole and skatole levels. LBH yielded increased caecal abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila and Oscillibacter relatives, as demonstrated by either qPCR, MiSeq, or clone library analysis. SBH favoured the growth of lactobacilli as assessed by both qPCR and MiSeq, and favoured the growth of bifidobacteria as assessed by MiSeq. In comparison with STA, LBH and SBH yielded lower caecal abundance of bacteria related to Dorea massiliensis, as demonstrated by qPCR, MiSeq, and clone library analysis. Both types of bean husk were found to contain oligosaccharides that might selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria. Based on these results, the two species of bean husk tested are considered potentially functional for promoting the gut health of monogastric animals