Browsing by Author "Rajapakse, N."

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Psidium guajava L. (Common Guava) Peel, Pulp and Leaves as Natural Sources of Antioxidants, Antimicrobials and Photoprotective Agents for Development of Sun Protection Cosmeceuticals
(Asian Journal of Chemistry, 2022) Dewage, D.; Samarakoon, S.; Karunaratne, S.; Rajapakse, N.
Sunscreens with natural ingredients for skin care become a new trend in cosmetology as it protects skin against photo-aging and dermatologic disorders. Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial and photoprotective properties of methanolic extracts of leaves, peel and pulp of Psidium guajava L. to investigate their potentials to be used as sources of cosmeceutical ingredients for sun protection. Chemical constituents of the plant parts were extracted into methanol by maceration. Among the extracts, leaf extract exhibited higher DPPH free radical scavenging activity (IC 50 = 89.56 ± 0.97 μg/mL), than that of peel and pulp extracts. The highest total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were found to be in the leaf extract. All extracts demonstrated antibacterial activity against the examined potential pathogens in cosmetic products. Among the extracts, leaf extract showed the highest photoprotective property with the sun protection factor (SPF) of 30.38 ± 0.22 at 2 mg/mL indicating its potential to be used in the development of sunscreen formulations.
Usage of Resources to Facilitate English Language Teaching and Learning in Government Schools in The Gampaha District
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Rajapakse, N.
Even though every child commences to learn English from their nursery, even after thirteen years of education of the English language, there are students who are unable to pass the General English Language paper at the Advanced Level examination. Thus in the process of teaching and learning any language, according to the evaluation report done by the Department of Examination (2013), using resources to facilitate the process is suggested as one of the key aspects for an effective teaching and learning process in English. This study provides an insight into the usage of resources to facilitate English language teaching and learning in five government schools in the Biyagama Divisional Secretariat in Gampaha district. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the present English language teaching methodology uses resources to facilitate the teaching and learning process that makes English language teaching at government schools effective. The study adopts a mixed method approach, comprising of both qualitative and quantitative data: student and teacher questionnaires and lesson observations. Both the data collecting methods are carried out to investigate whether the government English teaching classrooms still follow traditional teaching methods regardless of utilizing the resources that are more beneficial when teaching a communicative language like English. Thus the research sample consists of fifty eight participants; fifty students from nine classes and eight teachers who teach English for the selected classes. The findings of the study indicate that other than the text book or any other supplementary book given by the Ministry of Education, resources such as Internet and audio cassettes, videos and games are not at all incorporated when teaching English in these selected government schools. Thus the government should guide the English language teachers to use more resources to make the lessons that are taught, interesting and meaningful.