iPURSE 2019

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A comparative assessment of knowledge of dental students on management of traumatic dental injuries, with and without access to the visual dental trauma guide
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Senarath, N. H.; Wimalarathna, A. A. A. K.; Herath, E. M. U. C. K.; Fonseka, M. C. N.; Andersson, L.
Traumatic dental injuries (TDI) are a common finding which presents at 4.5% global incidence rate. These injuries significantly affect the quality of life of an individual due to the prominence of orofacial region in social and functional aspects of a life. Emergency management bears a critical value in the prognosis of traumatized tissues. Therefore, the general practitioners are expected to intervene appropriately. During the undergraduate practice the students are given lectures and demonstrations on TDI. However, having access to Visual Dental Trauma Guide (VDTG) as a tool to assist in making evidence- based decisions in the clinic is expected to be more effective. The objective was to evaluate the effect of using VDTG for diagnosis and treatment planning for TDI by dental undergraduates. Final year students in the test group were given access to the VDTG, during their clinical appointment, while the control group was not. Their knowledge was evaluated and compared using a multiple-choice questionnaire and OSCEs. The students with access to the VDTG were observed to be more knowledgeable in providing correct answers to three out of the seven OSCE questions. Evaluation based on the MCQs did not present a significant difference (p=0.913). However, Use of VDTG showed statistically significant difference in the overall knowledge of the test group based on their answers (p=0.028). In the test group 91.3% scored more than 50% for the MCQ paper while it was 95.7% in the control group. In the overall evaluation, 8.6% in the test group scored above 50% while it was 2.1% in the control group. Total mean value of the test group was 38.18 compared to 33.23 in the control group. Use of DTG is a valuable tool for better diagnosis and treatment of patients subjected to TDI. However, lectures and demonstrations have provided sound knowledge to the students.
A complete pipeline of free bioinformatics tools for de novo transcriptome assembly and SSR primer design
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Naranpanawa, D. N. U.; Chandrasekara, C. H. W. M. R. B.; Bandaranayake, P. C. G.; Bandaranayake, A. U.
During the past few decades, next-generation sequencing technologies have grown exponentially in terms of throughput, speed and reduction of sequencing cost. This has revolutionized the field of genomics, allowing the production of vast datasets. However, methods and software requirements for analyzing this data to interpret correct biological meaning are not experiencing the same growth rate. One such limitation is the unaffordable price of commercially available bioinformatics software. Hence, only a small fraction of genomes and transcriptomes have been completely assembled and annotated. Lack of reference genomes for comparative assembly lead to computationally more challenging de novo assembly. In addition, obtaining an assembly is a complex process that require many steps by using several complex tools. Due to this, beginners in bioinformatics might find analysis procedures too complicated and time-consuming with the associated learning-curve. Therefore, in order to aid novice biologists in assembling sequence data, and to bridge the bottleneck in computational biology and bioinformatics, we present a complete pipeline of freely available bioinformatics software for de novo transcriptome assembly. This pipeline was developed by combining several individual software through user-friendly shell scripts. To test the pipeline, we used Illumina HiSeq paired-end RNA-seq reads from four oil-producing Santalum album (sandalwood) tree samples from a published study. The raw data were first filtered for low quality reads, trimmed for adapters and normalized. Assembly was performed with Trinity de novo assembler. The quality of the assembly was tested with BUSCO, Bowtie2 and TransRate, and indicated to be high quality. In order to further validate the accuracy of the assembly, we used the assembled transcriptome to identify gene-specific Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers. Primers were designed for eight S. album oil biosynthetic genes and two control genes, which were validated in the laboratory with respective samples. All primers amplified successfully, confirming the designed workflow. Furthermore, five SSR markers polymorphic among tested sandalwood accessions are potential markers to be utilized in sandalwood breeding programs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt of developing a user-friendly, validated assembly pipeline with free bioinformatics software and tools, provided with detailed documentation.
A critical evaluation of the ownership and responsibilities of early childhood care, development and education in Sri Lanka
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Abesooriya, L.
Early Childhood Care and Development and Education are considered crucial for human development (UNICEF, 2007 cited in Gallardo, 2009). The dearth of research in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and education indicate that less attention is paid to its advancement in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the child related studies conducted in Sri Lanka are limited. This paper presents a critical evaluation of the policies related to the ownership and responsibilities of ECCD and education in Sri Lanka. A qualitative research design was used for this study. Interviews were done with responsible informants at the Children’s Secretariat and Provincial Councils. Furthermore, documents related to ECCD and education were analysed using thematic analysis in order to discover the emerging themes related to the policies of ECCD and education. The findings showed that there is no single designated authority who is responsible in maintaining the early childhood care and education in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, it was noted that the responsibility of ECCD and education constantly shifts from one authority to another. In addition, the contradictions in the policies regarding the responsibilities and ownership was noted. Hence, the requirement for stern and stable policies to establish authorities to maintain and also to share the responsibilities regarding the early childhood development and care and education is highlighted in the present study.
A deep learning approach to increase the accuracy of predicting protein- compound interactions
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Gunathilake, P. M. P. C.; Roshan, W. M. P. G. D. M.; Jayarathna, P. D. C. R.
In drug repositioning and discovery, a system-level identification of drug-target direct interactions is important. However, even today a wide range of drug compounds and protein targets makes it challenging and expensive to identify the interactions between them. For protein-compound interaction prediction, traditional similarity-based computational models were used and they rarely utilize the hidden features from currently available large-scale unlabelled compound and protein data. They often limit their usage on relatively small-scale datasets. This work proposes a new schema for predicting the protein compound interaction and binding score using deep learning approach. Most accurate features from a large set of proteins and compounds were selected and converted into a form of numerical values as the input data. The known interactions between selected compound and protein pairs were taken in binary form as the target dataset. The numerical input dataset and the binary target dataset were used to train a deep neural network model under a supervised learning process. The neural network was optimized and trained with different activation functions and optimization algorithms. The trained neural network model was then used to predict the protein-compound interactions. Also, the second approach was made to predict the protein-compound binding score. The same set of protein-compound pairs were selected as the input of the neural network model. A multiple levels of numerical values representing the binding score between each protein- compound pair in the input dataset was taken as the target instead of the binary target in the interaction prediction method. Then the neural network model was optimized and trained to predict the binding score for a protein-compound pair. The cross validated accuracy for protein-compound binding score prediction neural network was 99.6% and for the protein-compound interaction prediction neural network it was 77.32%.
A high throughput molecular marker assay for bacterial leaf blight resistance gene Xa21 in rice
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Nanayakkara, N. H. L. D. L. D.; Edirisingha, I. K.; Dissanayake, D. M. L. N. K.; Weerasinghe, W. D. P.; Suriyagoda, L. D. B.; Herath4, H. M. V. G.; Perera, S. A. C. N.; Jayatilake, D. V.
Molecular markers are used as tools for precise and efficient screening of desirable genotypes in modern day plant breeding. One of the attractive attributes of a molecular marker is its compatibility to high throughput screening. The Xa21 gene is a major resistance gene against bacterial leaf blight (BLB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. The closely-linked sequence-tagged site marker pTA248 has been frequently used for the screening of Xa21, however, compared to a flanking or intergenic marker, a linked-marker may have low reliability and effectiveness in marker-assisted selection (MAS). In the current study, a diagnostic intragenic marker ABUOP0001 was developed for MAS of Xa21, which flanks over a 19-bp insertion/deletion on the ectodomain of the Xa21. The marker amplifies a 200-bp and a 181-bp amplicon from the rice lines IRBB 62 and IRBB 7, known-to-carry the resistance and susceptible alleles for Xa21, respectively. The marker ABUOP0001 is compatible for high-throughput screening with high resolution melting technology, where the genotypic scoring could be effectively carried out based on the normalized melt curves. Further, the marker ABUOP0001 was successfully assayed as a single-tube multiplexed PCR with another molecular marker assaying for the BLB resistance gene Xa4. The products of the two markers can be effectively binned together to facilitate the detection of the presence of resistance and/or susceptible alleles in a single PCR reaction. The marker ABUOP0001 performed equally or better than the linked-marker pTA248 in detecting BLB resistant phenotypes in a field trial involving 63 rice accessions. Therefore, the marker ABUOP0001 can be recommended as a diagnostic intragenic marker for marker-assisted high throughput screening of Xa21 in rice.
A multispectral imaging system for industrial applications
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2019-09-12) Prabhath, G. W. K.; Bandara, W. G. C.; Dissanayake, D. W. S. C. B.; Herath, H. M. V. R.; Godaliyadda, G. M. R. I.; Ekanayake, M. P. B.; Fernando, M. A. R. M.
Multi-spectral imaging (MSI) is a technique for obtaining spectral information of an object. MSI has rapidly evolved as a non-destructive and non-invasive analytical method in many industrial applications. Multispectral images are rich in information compared to the standard RGB images because they have the capability of acquiring spectral information beyond the RGB bands. Therefore, multispectral images can be used to classify object properties more accurately than an RGB image. However, commercially available multi-spectral cameras with high spectral resolution are very expensive and the implementation of such imaging system is not affordable for medium scale enterprises. In the first part of this research, we were designed an MSI system that can be customized for use in many industrial applications. The developed MSI system can capture multispectral images from near ultraviolet (N-UV) to near infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum with a spectral resolution of nine spectral bands (405 nm - 960 nm). The light emitted by the light emitting diodes reaches the object which is placed inside a dark chamber through an integrating hemisphere. The multi-spectral images of the object were captured using a monochrome camera with a resolution of 1.3M Pixels and saved for each flash. In the second part of this research, MSI system was used to estimate the leakage current through algae aided insulators used in high voltage (HV) transmission lines. The leakage current flows in HV transmission lines are mainly due to the algae contaminated insulators. Inspection of HV insulator conditions are done as visual inspection tasks. However, this process is expensive, time consuming and required skilled workers. The results show that use of MSI system for the condition assessment of HV insulators remotely. Additionally, a hybrid machine learning algorithm was developed based on principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate statistical methods to estimate the leakage currents through algae aided ceramic plates.
A novel molecular marker for gel-based biotyping of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Nanayakkara, N. H. L. D. L. D.; Denipitiyage, S. D.; Jayatilake, D. V.; Kodithuwakku, S. P.
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugipera is a Noctuid lepidopteran pest with a polyphagous feeding habit. The larval stage of FAW feeds on a wide range of crops, including major cereals and vegetables causing significant yield losses globally. The genetic complexities and their migration patterns have resulted two morphologically indistinguishable FAW subpopulations, named “rice strain” (R-FAW) and “corn strain” (C-FAW). Previously, sequence-based analysis, restriction enzyme-based profiles, and dominant marker assays targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1) gene have been used to differentiate the biotypes. In the current study, we developed a gel- based co-dominant temperature-switch PCR (TSP) marker, targeting a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for direct biotyping of FAW. To design the marker, reference CO1 gene sequences of R-FAW (Genbank accession: U72977) and C-FAW (Genbank accession: U72974) were retrieved from the NCBI repository. A 746 bp length sequence of the CO1 gene was aligned using ClustalW feature in Geneious v.7.1.3. The TSP marker was designed using the Primer3 platform on Geneious, with a pair of locus- specific primers defining the region of interest, and a pair of nested locus-specific primers targeting a SNP within the resulted amplicon. A sample each of R-FAW and a C-FAW biotypes (confirmed as the respective biotypes through direct DNA sequencing of the COI region and comparing with the FAW reference sequences) collected from Ridimaliyadda amplified the expected 341-bp amplicon, and a 204-bp amplicon, respectively, for the TSP marker assay. Thus, the newly developed TSP marker, named ABUOP0002 can be recommended as a gel-based molecular marker for the identification of FAW rice and corn biotypes. This marker can be used as a low-cost molecular tool to efficiently diagnose FAW biotypes without DNA sequencing especially in a resource- limited setting.
A review: fractionation methods of starch components (Amylose and Amylopectin) for industrial applications
(University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 2019-09-12) Amaraweera, A. P. S. M.; Manipura, W. M. J. A. S. B.; Manamperi, W. A.; Gunathilake, C. A.
Starch is a natural polymer that can be used in industrial applications to prepare biodegradable artifacts. But these have many drawbacks such as high water absorption, low mechanical strength, and lesser durability. Properties of starch (chemical and physical) and that of the resultant applications are much dependent on the amylose to amylopectin ratio. Recent research studies have focused on fractionation of starch components and modifying the compositions of amylose and amylopectin for specific applications. Formulation of polymer blends with starch and various additives (cross linkers, plasticizers etc.) have led to significant improvements of properties in industrial applications such as plastics and composite material. This review mainly focuses on the recent developments in fractionation of starch using chemical, physical, and enzymatic methods. Of these, the physical and chemical fractionation methods are widely used, whereas enzymatic methods are used for highly specific applications. The main challenges of starch fractionation include high solubility and susceptibility to structural degradation. Recent studies have made significant progress in investigating various solvent mixtures and other process variables in order to overcome these challenges.
A study of startup motives and entrepreneurship tendency among small business operators
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Kahathuduwa, K.K.P.N.; Kodithuwakku, K.A.S.S.; Jayaweera, V.W.
A person’s propensity to engage in entrepreneurship has a relationship with his/her level of entrepreneurial tendency, and a person’s motivation to start-up business may defer from opportunity to necessity. This research primarily aims to assess start-up motives and entrepreneurial tendencies (ET) of small business operators in rural Sri Lanka. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from a sample of 100 respondents. The motivation type of the business operator was decided using a list of structured questions and ET was calculated using the General Enterprising Tendency Test (GET) (Caird, 1991). The hypotheses were tested using Pairwise comparisons and Kruskal Wallis Test. Findings revealed that men were more opportunity driven whereas women were more necessity driven. However, both men and women were found to be motivated to fulfill personal needs. Furthermore, younger people are more opportunity driven compared to older people, and the respondents with a high level of formal education are more necessity driven. People owning older businesses are more opportunity-driven, also with higher ET scores whereas older people were more necessity driven and showed a lower level of ET scores. All in all, men demonstrated higher ET scores compared to women. Findings also revealed that the higher the level of formal education, the lower the ET scores. Even though some researchers argue that the personality traits (i.e. the construct of ET) of a given person are constant over the time, the findings of this research reveal that there are significant differences of the ET of groups of people belonging to different demographic and business characteristics. Furthermore, the ET also changed with the type of start-up motives, and vice versa. However, the findings also revealed that the influence of the type of startup motivation on ET is more significant than the influence of ET on the type of startup motives.
A study on prevalence of ischemic heart diseases among hypertensive patients participating at a hypertension clinic, teaching hospital, Peradeniya
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Rathnayake, B. M. C.; Illeperuma, R. P.; Ralapanawa, U,; Jayalath, T. A.; Gunarathna, N. S.
Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a leading cause of mortality in Sri Lanka. Potential risk factors remain unclear. Among the modifiable risk factors, hypertension is a critical offender. This study is aimed at assessing the risks for IHD among hypertensive patients. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out over 6 months, on 150 patients from the hypertension clinic of Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya. An interviewer administered questionnaire along with Rose Angina Questionnaire (RAQ) were used to collect data on potential risk factors of IHDs while 12 –lead ECG recordings were analyzed for ST segment alterations that mimic myocardial ischemic changes. Majority of participants were female (n= 93, 62%). The mean age of the sample was 61.5 ± 10.33 years and the average systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures were 146 ± 23.27Hgmm, 85 ± 12.08Hgmm and 104 ± 14.31Hgmm respectively. The association between the ST segment deviations that mimic IHDs and presence of stage I or II hypertension (n=52, 42%) was statistically significant (p<0.05, df=1). Both the responses to RAQ and ST segment analysis were positive among 34 (23%) with Odds Ratio of 1.35 (95% CI, 0.707 – 2.578), representing the high risk group for IHDs. Positive family history of IHDs (n=28, 19%) brings 1.838 (95% CI, 0.742 – 4.551) fold risk as evidenced by positive RAQ and ST segment deviations. The hypertensive individuals with diabetes (n=7, 7%) exhibited a 2.444 risk (95% CI, 0.648 – 9.224) while having both diabetes and hypercholesterolemia (n=18, 18%) indicated a 2.424 fold risk of developing IHDs, than those without such Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The conventional risk factors such as positive family history and the presence of concurrent NCDs were emphasized as risks for IHDs among hypertensive patients.
Accuracy of a simple clinical assessment compared to structured triaging protocol in detecting priority category in emergency department, teaching hospital, Kurunegala
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Seneviratne, K. U.; Millewithana, M. A. B. S.; Muhandirum, S.; Suraweera, S. A. O.
Rapid triage of patients in an emergency department is essential and has a significant impact on patient outcomes. This study was designed to asses the agreement between eyeball triaging and a formally structured triage system and to compare the short-term (48hrs) outcome of the patients with each triaging method. Study was designed as a prospective cohort study in teaching hospital, Kurunegala. All un-booked patients with age >16 who came to the emergency treatment unit, except those who had a pregnancy >24 weeks or required anti rabies vaccination were included. Structured triage was performed by trained triaging personal. Eyeball triaging was a non- systematic clinical assessment based on clinical assumption, performed by admitting medical officer. Both methods triaged patients as red (Emergent), Orange, yellow and Green (Non urgent). Primary analysis assessed the accuracy of eyeball triage level compared to the structured triaging model. Short-term mortality (48hrs) of the Red and Orange categories were assessed secondarily. A total of 1100 patients were included. Eyeball triage was performed for 1087 (98.8%) patients. Structured triage performed for 1004 (91.2%). Patients who had both triage assessments n=1004. Agreement between two triage methods was fair (kappa 0.2). The PPV, NPV and sensitivity and specificity of the eyeball method compared to structured method in most urgent group and non-urgent groups were 66.7%, 84.7%, 79.6% and 73.9% respectively. 48-hour mortality category 1 patients was approximately 5% in both methods. Agreement between eyeball triage and structured triage is fair. Short-term mortality of the category 1 patients appeared to the same for both methods. Therefore eyeball triage could be used in emergency departments when necessary with no increase in patient mortality.
Agro tourism for rural development: creating a business model through an exploratory case study
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Niroshana, S.; Eranda, N.
Tourism is increasingly diversified to be more competitive. Agro tourism is also such a diversified initiative aiming at the fulfillment of sustainable development goals by focusing on rural areas of a country. Recently, agro tourism has drawn attention in the international literature and which has not been researched extensively in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify the stance of agro tourism and to discuss its role in rural development. Further, this paper ends with a business model to enhance agro tourism by incorporating salient stakeholders. This study was conducted using single case study method based on interpretivism philosophy. Accordingly, Heeloya tourism village in Central Province was selected as the case study and the primary data was collected using participant observations and in-depth semi structured interviews. The key informants of this study were administrators, farmers, community and tourists in the village. Further, a pilot study was conducted with officials at the Agricultural Department to get initial insights. Data analysis was initiated using transcription and summary development which led the researchers to adopt the thematic analysis and cross-tab analysis. According to findings, agro tourism village has a diversified set of initiatives to attract the tourists based on its unique rural environment. However, agro tourism concept is still at infancy stage with several challenges including negative attitudes of community, lack of infrastructure facilities and entrepreneurial skills. Rural development is also evidenced through the means of enhancing income of rural farmers and supported community, jobs creation, and enhancing the competencies of the community. However, researchers need contend that it is important to identify the problems in the village and those should be properly addressed by collaborating with relevant stakeholders. This idea is incorporated in the business model presented at the end to effectively achieve rural development through agro tourism.
An analysis of livelihood and economic challenges of fireworks manufacturing community in Sri Lanka
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Galapitage, D. G. C. M.; Prasada, D. V. P.
Manufacturing fireworks is essentially a low-tech, high labour-intensive industry in Sri Lanka. A large number of families in and around Kimbulapitiya in Katana divisional secretariat, Sri Lanka are engaged in fireworks manufacturing and many more depend on the industry indirectly. The fire crackers are made by females and children in those areas as self-employment apart from larger factories. The sustainable livelihoods framework, a tool developed to understand of livelihoods of people, to assess the continuity of working conditions in the fireworks industry was used. The method aims to identify various factors affecting livelihoods in terms of livelihood assets and vulnerability context. The transforming structures and processes are also taken into consideration. The 102 respondents from the families of fireworks manufacturing were interviewed. Factors affecting the likelihood of respondents remaining in the industry within next 5 years was studied and found that increasing market demand, job satisfaction and age reduce the likelihood of exit (P=0.05). Second, the factors affecting reported breathing difficulties and was examined and found that normal firecrackers, radiant wheels, and noisy crackers are associated with statistically significant levels of breathing difficulty (p =0.05) while the link is not significant for sparklers and skyrockets. Overall, results highlight the weak structures and processes in this risky livelihood. Addressing these factors is necessary to ensure sustainability of the cottage industry and to ensure decent work conditions for workers.
An automated algorithm to quantify cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) in tele chest X-rays
(University of Peradeniya,Sri Lanka, 2019-09-12) Sinthuja, S.; Perera, U. L. V. M.; Tinusanth, K.; Nawarathna, R. D.; Kulatunga, S.
In radiography, analysis of tele chest radiographs and measurement of the Cardio Thoracic Ratio (CTR) help to evaluate cardiac enlargement. Usually, CTR values are measured manually using either normal rulers or digitized rulers which are vulnerable to technical errors. Hence, our aim of this research is to introduce an automated algorithm to measure CTR using digital image processing techniques. First, the automated algorithm preprocesses the X-Ray image using histogram equalization and median filtering. Second, the image is segmented with an advanced region-growing algorithm using two seed points in the lungs and the segmented image is fine-tuned using shrink and reconstruct morphological operations to extract the area of the heart and lungs. Finally, the transverse diameter of the thorax and the widest length of the heart are calculated from the segmented binary image for the CTR calculation. 200 digital tele chest radiographs were obtained from patients who are between the age of 18 and 65. For each radiograph, the CTR value was calculated using both the automated algorithm and the manual method using digital rulers. Manually calculated CTR was assessed by a radiologist. Two CTR values were compared statistically. For that, the heart area of each X-Ray image was assessed as normal or abnormal and compared against the radiologist’s assessment of the same. An accuracy rate of 83.5% was achieved for the diagnosis of the abnormal size of the heart. Higher accuracy was reported for calculation of the transverse diameter of the thorax compared to the calculation of the widest length of the heart. One limitation of the algorithm is the inconsistency in the segmentation of the lower heart border due to the soft tissues in the lower part of the heart and lung pathology. Overall the results show that the proposed image processing based CTR calculation algorithm could be effectively applied for the diagnosis of the enlargement of the heart.
An Iot cloud based architecture for collecting of RSSI data in wireless sensor networks
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Weerasinghe, Y. S. P.; Dissanayake, M. B.
Internet of Things (IoT) is the nova emergence of connecting devices, people and objects over the Internet as sensors and actuators for a targeted application. Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are a subset of IoT. In WSNs, a group of dedicated sensors are dispersed in a pre-defined area for collecting of physical data in a remote location. Moreover, WSN nodes can be integrated with an IoT cloud architecture to provide data storage, processing and security. This research used the received signal strength indication (RSSI), a quantitative measure of the received signal power from a wireless sensor node to a receiver for indoor localization. We explored the possibility of collecting RSSI as IoT data to a cloud storage server remotely. The research assembled a collection of RSSI by developing hardware and a cloud architecture for publishing the onsite data on remote storage sever. The hardware design of the research includes the implementation of the mobile node, reference nodes and the IoT cloud architecture to send RSSI data. The hardware comprised of star connected WSN nodes, which used on RSSI acquisition using with the ESP8266 microchip as the salient centerpiece of the research and could be formulated for collecting of RSSI with suitable design constraints with low power and size. The microchip has low power operating capability as trait on IoT. The IoT cloud storage for acquisition of RSSI data is managed by a mosquito server in the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport cloud. In the end of the research the validity was checked by the linear relationship between RSSI acquired remotely with the Euclidean distances of each sample point. Our results substantiate the linearity of the data sets which proves the validity of the research.
Anatomical variation of peroneus tertius muscle found during routine anatomy dissection
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Kosgallana, E. W.; Eshwara, J. M.; Dissanayake, J. K.
Peroneus tertius, a muscle of the lower limb first described by Versalius was once thought to be unique to humans. A number of anatomical variations have been reported regarding this muscle. Although thought to play an important role in bipedal gait, it is not considered absolutely necessary for the normal function of the lower limbs. Therefore, it is used widely for soft tissue replacement surgeries. Its precise anatomy is also important in the placement of arthroscopy portals to avoid injuring vital neurovascular structures. Adjacent to it is the extensor digitorum longus muscle which dorsiflexes the foot and extends the toes. This study examined the lower limbs of 27 cadavers for variations of the peroneus tertius during routine anatomy dissections. In two specimens, a variation of the distal attachment of peroneus tertius muscle revealed that in addition to the normal attachment to the shaft of the fifth metatarsal, an additional slip inserted to the extensor expansion of the fifth toe. It apparently replaced the fourth tendon of extensor digitorum longus, which only had three divisions in these specimens. This variation was present in the right leg of an 88-year-old female and the left leg of a female of unknown age. This variation may hinder the use of peroneus tertius tendon for above mentioned purposes as extension of fifth toe might be affected with the removal of peroneus tertius muscle/tendon. This may necessitate accurate imaging before such procedures.
Antibacterial activity of selected seaweed extracts against some selected infectious pathogens
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Maria Nimalini, M.; Vasantharuba, S.; Kapilan, R.
The antibacterial efficacy of methanolic extracts of marine algae, Caulerpa racemosa (Chlorophyta), Sargassum polycystum and Turbinaria ornata (Phaeophyta) against some selected gram-positive and gram-negative human pathogenic bacteria was studied. Dried and powdered sample (3g) of the seaweeds collected at the Nachchikuda and Keerimalai coastal area in the Northern region of Sri Lanka was diluted with 60 ml 70% methanol. This mixture was homogenized at different duration and then filtered by using whatsman No 1 filter paper to obtain clear extract. This extract was used to test the antibacterial activity against appropriately diluted Gram-positive bacterial species Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) & Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213) and Gram-negative bacterial species Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) & Pseudomonas aeroginosa (ATCC 27853) using agar well diffusion method in triplicates. Results showed that significant amount of inhibition zone was obtained against all the tested bacterial species which was comparable with positive control streptomycin and negative control 70% methanol. Turbinaria ornata have significantly highest antibacterial activity against all test organisms followed by Caulerpa racemosa and Sargassum polycystum. The selected seaweeds showed their highest and lowest inhibition zone against Staphylococcus aureus (19.06±1.15mm) and Enterococcus faecalis (12.32±0.76mm).
Assessing the yield variation of rice for future climate in the mid-century of Sri Lanka
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Nissanka, S. P.; Karunaratne, A. S.; Weerakoon, W. M. W.; Punyawardena, B. V. R.; Wallach, D.; McDermid, S.; Ruane, A.
Some work has been examined the impact of climate change on water availability, increase in temperature and the carbon dioxide and the subsequent implications on crop productivity. This study was aimed to (i) project climate of 3 major paddy growing regions in the mid-century (2040-2069) of Sri Lanka under high emission scenario (RCP8.5) for 20 General Circulation Models (GCMs) of the 5ᵗʰ phase of Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) archive, (ii) evaluate the simulated future yield for mid-century using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) and (iii) study the climate sensitivity of rice yield using Coordinated Climate-Crop Modeling Project (C3MP) of AgMIP. When consider the mean temperature projections of all GCMs across the study region, the increment of minimum temperature (Tmin) by 1.9 ⁰C (minor) and 1.8 ⁰C (major) was higher than the increment of maximum temperature (Tmax) by 1.8 ⁰C (minor) and 1.6 ⁰C (major). The mean rainfall decreased by 2.2% in the minor season while it increased by 18.5% in the major season. Out of the two cultivars, Bg 357 was more sensitive to increased carbon dioxide and warmer temperatures than Bg 300 indicating significant varietal variations in yield responses. The predicted rice yield decreased in all the GCMs for both seasons. The highest reduction was from the minor season (Yala) (29.6±6.3%) when compared to the major season (Maha) (16.0±4.6%). Since the climate change possess a severe threat to country’s food security, adaptation strategies are needed to minimize the yield losses under future climate.
Assessment of forest cover changes in somawathiya national park using remote sensing and geographic information system
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Jayakody, J. R. S. R.; Chandramali, M. D. N.
Somawathiya National Park is one of the important national park in Sri Lanka. Forest cover of Somawathiya National Park is affected by several climatological and anthropogenic factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in forest cover in this national park using multi-temporal Remote Sensing (RS) data and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. For this study, Landsat 7 ETM image of 20ᵗʰ May 2002, 18ᵗʰ May 2007, 18ᵗʰ May 2013 and Landsat 8 (OLI/TIRS) image of 24ᵗʰ July 2017 were used. Supervised classification was performed to produce Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) classes. LULC changes analyzed under four classes that are dense forest, sparse forest, grassland & villus and other lands (Water bodies/Croplands/Built-Up/Bare soil/Sand). Error matrix and Kappa statistics method were introduced to assess the accuracy of the produced LULC maps. Accuracy assessment was performed against the ground truth field samples. If field samples are not available Google Earth imageries were employed. Overall accuracies resulting from supervised classification of 2002, 2007, 2013 and 2017 imageries were 88.42% (Kappa 0.84), 86.51% (Kappa 0.82), 88.89% (Kappa 0.85) and 90.91% (Kappa 0.86), respectively. Thus the classification process in this study shows high classification accuracy and a strong agreement. The results of the analysis revealed that from 2002 to 2007, 2007 to 2013 and 2013 to 2017 the forest covers has decreased by 563 ha, 925 ha and 895 ha, respectively representing 1.49%, 2.46% and 2.37% change. Highest rate of forest cover reduction was recorded from year 2007 to 2013 (185 ha/year - 0.49%) while the least rate was recorded during 2002-2007 period (112.6 ha/year - 0.3%). It emerged that from 2002 to 2017, forest cover has reduced by 2383 ha (158.9 ha/year- 0.42%) which is amounting to 6.33% reduction.
Assessment of knowledge practice and adherence to thyroxin treatment in thyroid cancer patients at Badulla provincial general hospital, Sri Lanka
(University of Peradeniya, 2019-09-12) Amarasiri, H. A. D. B.; Kodagoda, B. M. C. U.; Tennakoon, T. M. P. S.; Wijekoon, W. M. N. C.; Sendanayake, L. R.; Chenthuran, M.
Thyroid cancer is one of the main cancer types and hence it becomes a main health concern globally. Recent studies have revealed an upsurge of thyroid cancer in Sri Lanka. Poor knowledge, practice, and adherence to treatment are factors which affect the quality of lives of patients and their families. Objectives of this study were to assess patients’ knowledge, practice, and adherence to thyroxin used for thyroid cancer in the oncology clinic at Badulla Provincial General Hospital. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 80 patients who visited the clinic during 24th May 2018 to 22nd June 2018. The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts Part A - demographic data, Part B - patients’ knowledge on thyroid cancer and treatment, Part C - patients’ knowledge of medicines used for thyroid cancer and Part D - patients’ practice and adherence regarding medicines used for thyroid cancer. Each correct response was given one mark with no negative marks allocated for false responses. Final total mark was categorized according to an in-house built scale. The results of the study revealed that majority (32.6%) of the participants belonged to the age category 51-60 years with male predominance (33.3%) in that group. Nearly half the patients had a fair knowledge of thyroid cancer while 58.5% of patients were fairly knowledgeable on thyroid cancer medicines including thyroxin. Regarding thyroxin, 76.8% had a clear idea on correct storage conditions. However, was 59 % of patients usually missed/skipped their daily thyroxin dose which shows poor adherence. It can be concluded that participants had a fair knowledge of thyroid cancer, and thyroxin but poor practice and adherence to thyroxin treatment. Further studies are needed to increase the knowledge, practice and adherence to treatment for thyroid cancer.

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