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Item type: Publication , 1979_Vidurava 04 (02 & 03) English(Colombo : National Science Council of Sri Lanka ; Vidurava Issue, 1979) Jayawardene, A.L.; Abeywickrema, B.A.; Ramanathan, C.; Bharati, S.; National Science CouncilItem type: Publication , 1979_Vidurava 04 (01) English(Colombo : National Science Council of Sri Lanka ; Vidurava Issue, 1979) Wijesinghe, L.C.A. De S.; Karunatilake, H.N.S.; Arudpragasam, K.D.; National Science CouncilItem type: Publication , Biodegradation of the cyanotoxin cylindrospermopsin by Bacillus cereus, Micrococcus luteus and Alcaligenes faecalis(National Science Foundation: Colombo, 2024-01-02) Peduruarachchi, H.T.; Liyanage, G.Y.; Idroos, F.S.; Ekanayake, M.S.; Manage, P.M.Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) is a cyanotoxin found in natural waters, with potential risk to human health through the inhibition of protein synthesis. Despite the implementation of conventional water treatment procedures, complete removal of CYN remains a question due to its heat-stable nature. Hence, contamination of water sources with CYN is a challenge in providing safe drinking water throughout the world. The present study was conducted to test the ability to degrade CYN at 280C and pH 7, of four bacterial strains: Bacillus cereus-Y, Bacillus cereus-S (B. cereus-S), Micrococcus luteus, and Alcaligenes faecalis, which were previously isolated from different water sources as different hydrocarbon degraders. The CYN degradation kinetics of each bacterial species were studied using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The greatest CYN degradation (28.22 ± 0.24%) was shown by the bacterium B. cereus-S in 5.0 mg/L CYN within 14 days. The CYN degradation by the other strains was lower than 10% under the same conditions. Further studies employing different initial concentrations of CYN revealed that B. cereus-S could degrade lower CYN concentrations at a higher percentage (1.0 mg/L, 2.5 mg/L, and 5.0 mg/L of CYN removal percentages were 36.83 ± 2.43%, 32.25 ± 1.25%, and 24.72 ± 0.40%, respectively, after 14 days of incubation at 280C and pH 7). The maximum average degradation rates were recorded for 1.0 mg/L, 2.5 mg/L, and 5.0 mg/L CYN on the 6th (0.05 ± 0.00 mg/L/day), 8th (0.04 ± 0.01 mg/L/day), and 12th (0.02 ± 0.01 mg/L/day) days of incubation, respectively. The study showed the potentiality of the bacterium B. cereus-S on the application for degrading CYN among the tested bacteria species.Item type: Publication , Whole exome sequencing coupled with in silico functional analysis identified NID1 as a novel candidate gene causing neuro-psychiatric disorder in a Pakistani family(National Science Foundation: Colombo, 2024-01-02) Muzammal, M.; Ahmad, S.; Ali, M.Z.; Fatima, S.; Abbas, S.; Khan, J.; Ullah, H.; Shah, W.; Duan, L.; Khan, M.A.Intellectual disability (ID) is a neuro-developmental condition that affects a person’s cognitive ability and results in a learning defect. It affects 1–3% of the general population; however, the ratio may be expected to be more in a consanguineous population. Herein in the present study, we identified a nuclear family from Dera Ismail Khan City in Pakistan. Whole exome sequencing was performed to map the pathogenic variant. Protein structural modeling and interaction studies were carried out to validate the variant with disease association. Molecular modeling of normal and mutated proteins was performed through I-TASSER and Chimera tools, while docking and interaction analysis was carried out using Cluspro. Clinical analysis of the patient determined mild intellectual disability and gait problem. Candidate gene analysis in this family found a homozygous missense mutation NM_002508:c.C2512T (p.Arg838Cys) in the 12th exon of NID1 gene. Molecular modeling of wild-type and mutant NID1 proteins determined a significant effect on the protein’s secondary and tertiary structure. Hence, based on the exome sequence analysis, NID1 is proposed to be a strong novel candidate ID gene in this family. The genetic mapping of the present family led us to determine a novel candidate gene to be associated with intellectual disability. Linkage of additional ID families with genes would confirm its validity and strengthen our notion. Furthermore, expression studies and pathway analysis will help in exploring the biological mechanism of learning and memory.Item type: Publication , 1978_Vidurava 03 (03) English(Colombo : National Science Council of Sri Lanka ; Vidurava Issue, 1978) Gunasegaram, W.; Karunatilake, D.; Silva, P.; National Science Council