IPRC - 2022
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Item 2022 ගෝල්ෆේස් අරගලයේ ප්‍රවෘත්ති වාර්තාකරණය - රූපවාහිනී මාධ්‍යය ඇසුරෙන් විශ්ලේෂණාත්මක අධ්‍යයනයක්(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) මාධව, ජේ. ඒ. ටී.මෙම පර්යේෂණයේ අරමුණ වනුයේ 2022 වර්ෂයේ ගෝල්ෆේස් අරගලයේ ප්‍රවෘත්ති රජයේ සහ පෞද්ගලික මාධ්‍ය අංශ විසින් වාර්තා කළ ආකාරය අධ්‍යයනය කිරීමයි. මෙහි දී කාල රාමුව ලෙස 2022 මැයි මස 09 වන දින හා 2022 ජුනි 09 වන දින ප්‍රවෘත්ති විකාශයන් අතරතුර අරගලයේ ප්‍රවෘත්ති වාර්තාකරණය කළ ආකාරය පිළිබඳව රූපවාහිනී මාධ්‍ය දෙකක් ඇසුරෙන් විශ්ලේෂණාත්මක අධ්‍යයනයක් සිදු කර ඇත. මෙහි දී පර්යේෂණයේ නියැදිය වශයෙන් රජයේ ප්‍රධානතම රූපවාහිනී මාධ්‍ය ආයතනය වන ජාතික රූපවාහිනියත්, අරගල පුවත් මාධ්‍ය විකාශනයේ ජනප්‍රියතම මාධ්‍ය ලෙස ප්‍රකට වූ සිරස රූපයවාහිනී මධ්‍යයත් පෞද්ගලික මාධ්‍යයන් අතුරින් තෝරා ගන්නා ලදී. දත්ත රැස් කිරීමේ දී මාධ්‍ය අංශ දෙකෙහිම ප්‍රවෘත්ති වාර්තාකරණයේ පටිගත වීඩියෝ පට සහ එම ආයතන නිළ වෙබ් පිටු වල පලකළ වීඩියෝ පට භාවිතා කරන ලදී. දත්ත විශ්ලේෂණයේ දී ප්‍රවෘත්ති වාර්තාකරණයේ දී මාධ්‍ය අංශ දෙකෙහිම ප්‍රවෘත්ති සිරස්තල භාවිතය, ගුවන් කාලය වෙන් කිරීම, සහභාගී වූ වර්තාකරුවන් ප්‍රමාණය, ප්‍රවෘත්ති වාර්තාකරණයේ යෙදුනු ස්ථාන, පුවත් සංස්කරණය, පක්‍ෂග්‍රාහී බව, සජීවී පුවත් විකාශන වලදී භාෂා භාවිතය යන කරුණු යටතේ මාධ්‍ය අංශ දෙක පිළිබඳව අන්තර්ගත විශ්ලේෂණයක් සිදු කරන ලදී. මෙම පර්යේෂණයේ නිගමන සහ නිර්දේශ ලෙස පර්යේෂණයෙන් සනාත වී ඇත්තේ රාජ්‍ය මාධ්‍ය ලෙස ජාතික රූපවාහිනිය ප්‍රවෘත්ති විකාශනය තුළින් අරගලයේ නියම තත්ත්වයන් නිසි ලෙස විකාශනය සිදු කර නොමැති බවත්, රජයට පක්‍ෂක්ග්‍රාහීව ප්‍රවෘත්ති විකාශනය කර ඇති බවත්ය. ජාතික රූපවාහිනියේ විකාශනයේ දී ඔවුන් තමන්ගේ දෛනික වැඩසටහන්වලට මූලිකත්වය දෙමින් අරගලය සංනිවේදනය උකහා දැක්වීම යටපත් කර වර්තාකරනය සිදු කර ඇති අතර එය රාජ්‍ය විරෝධී කැරුල්ලක් යන මතය නිර්මාණය කිරීමට ද උත්සාහා දරා ඇත. එමෙන්ම රාජ්‍ය මර්ධනය හෙලිදරව් වීම වලැක්වීමට තම විකාශනය තුළින් උත්සාහ දරා ඇත. පෞද්ගලික මාධ්‍යයක් ලෙස සිරස රූපවාහිනිය අරගලකරුවන්ගේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් ඍජුව විකාශනය කිරීමට හා සජීවීව විකාශනය කිරීමට කටයුතු කර ඇති බවත්, සිරස මාධ්‍ය අරගලකරුවන්ට පක්‍ෂක්ග්‍රාහීව හා ජනතාව අරගලය තුළට ඇද ගැනීමට වචන හා භාෂාව භාවිතා කර ඇති බවත්, අරගලකරුවන්ට විරුද්ධව දැඩි මර්ධනකාරී වැඩ පිළිවෙලක් රජය විසින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කරන බව නිරූපණය කිරීමට තම මාධ්‍යවේදීන් අරගල භූමියේ සිට සජීවී තොරතුරු වාර්තාකරණය හා එම මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට ද ප්‍රහාර එල්ල වීම සංස්කරණය නොකරමින් විකාශනය කිරීම හා ඔවුන් හා ප්‍රවෘත්ති නිවේදකයන්ගේ ආවේගශිලී වචන භාවිතය මගින් අරගලය නිරවද්‍ය කිරීම හා ප්‍රවෘත්ති විකාශනයේ වැඩි කාලයක් අරගලයේ පුවත් විකාශනයට භාවිතා කිරීම මගින් ප්‍රේක්ශකයින් වැඩියෙන් ආකර්ෂණය කර ගැනීමට කටයුතු කිරීමට තම මාධ්‍ය භාවිතා කර ඇති බව පර්යේෂණයෙන් සනාත වී ඇත.Item Defining quality assurance in academic library perspective: a systematic review(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Fernando, I. D. K. L; Warnasooriya, W. W. S. T.Quality assurance (QA) in higher education has an immense impact on the quality and standardization of higher education in the world. In fact, the QA has become a major driving force behind the transformation of conventional teaching and learning practices towards modern educational systems. Libraries are integral counter part of education that support the core values of an academic institution. The term quality has been defined by different contexts, in different perspectives. However, to well adopt and smooth operationalization of QA in academic libraries, it needs to be defined accordingly. The study is based on definitions presented in previous literature related to academic library quality assurance. A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate existing definitions for QA in academic library perspective. Literature was searched in textbooks, publications in Ministry of Higher Education, official websites, academic journal databases, and newspapers with the phrases; “quality assurance”, “quality assurance in higher education”, “quality assurance in libraries”, “academic library quality assurance”, “library quality”, and “academic library transformation”. Results were then verified using the CRAAP evaluation criteria and 30 directly related literature were selected for further investigation. It was evident that, the definition of QA in academic libraries should include the concept that the quality of a library is “the difference between what users expect from the academic library and what library actually gives”. This concept can be used to formulate a proper definition for academic library industry or for a sperate library itself. However, the definition of academic library must be evident in their vision, mission, core values, objectives, services, and lead to formulate policies, procedures, standards, and accreditation related to library practices and education. It also opens the gateway towards academic library transformation, to meet the ever-changing needs of the society. Outcome of the research will be beneficial for any (academic) library that seeks to meet the needs of its users and utilize its resources to achieve a best return on investment to the community.Item Foreign direct investment and gross domestic products growth in Sri Lanka: An autoregressive distributive lag bounds test approach(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Tharsika, K.In the middle of this year, a burning topic in Sri Lanka was the countrywide outbreak of protests, which the government is struggling to control. Sri Lanka's GDP growth is plummeting due to poor government policies and COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Sri Lankan government must devise a strategy to boost the country's GDP growth. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) boosts the country's economic growth directly or indirectly, making it a vital tool for economic reform in this globalization era. FDI is particularly important in helping developing countries accelerate their GDP growth. However, empirical evidence on the links between FDI and GDP growth is mixed. As a result, this study aims to investigate the short and long-run relationship between FDI, net inflows (BoP, current million US dollars), and Sri Lankan GDP growth. The study used annual time series data from the World Bank and central bank annual reports from 1981 to 2020 to examine the research puzzle. The Augmented Dicky Fuller (ADF) unit root is used to investigate the stationarity properties of the two selected variables. The ADF unit root test results demonstrate that neither of the study variables of GDP and FDI is stationary at the 2nd difference. In addition, both variables are integrated in a mixed order of at level and 1st difference. The results support the eligibility of the ARDL model application for this study. The ARDL bounds test result concludes that there is a long-run relationship between the FDI and GDP growth in Sri Lanka. Further, the error correction model proves a short-run causality between selected variables. Thus, this study's findings show a short and long-run relationship between the variables studied. The results of this study provide implications to policymakers and governments in designing appropriate policies for encouraging FDI within countries, which indirectly boosts economic growth.Item Procedural experience, confidence, and self-reported perceived competence among medical undergraduates: A study from a metropolitan university in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Kodikara, K. G.; Seneviratne, H. M. T. W.; Premarathna, B. A. H. R.Bedside procedures are a vital component of patient care. Evidence from medical schools across the world reveals a lack of exposure to bedside procedures among medical undergraduates. Our objective was to ascertain medical students’ experience, confidence, and competence in performing bedside procedures. An anonymous, electronic survey was conducted among medical undergraduates of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. The participants were from years three to five, who are engaged in clinical clerkships. Students were asked how often they were exposed to 20 common medical procedures, their anticipated level of self-confidence, and assumed self-competence in performing the procedure independently. Statistical analysis included student t-test, Chi-square test, and comparisons of means. In total, 178 students out of 250 replied to the questionnaire. Most respondents had not observed airway manoeuvres (48.8%), arterial puncture (44.3%), defibrillation (50%), paracentesis (55.6%), and trauma primary survey (56.1%) during their clinical attachments. Students were not confident to perform several bedside procedures either independently or under supervision: nasogastric tube insertion (91.5%), blood culture (69.6%), lumbar puncture (96.0%), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (59.5%), arterial puncture (85.9%), wound dressing (80.8%), and paracentesis (96.0%). Venipuncture, cannulation, and Foley catheter placement were the only procedures that greater than 50% of students had performed more than 5 times during their clinical attachments. Respondents assumed they were able to perform venipuncture (32.5%), cannulation (19.1%), and Foley catheter insertion (13.4%) independently. A significant correlation was observed (r ¼ 0.8) with higher experience, confidence and assumed competence. The present study demonstrates that medical students are underexposed to vital bedside procedures and feel uncomfortable performing such procedures. Level of experience appears to significantly improve the levels of confidence as well as self-reported perceived competence among medical students. Due diligence needs to be given to improve procedural competence in undergraduate medical education.Item Language dilemma of post-independence Ceylon: a socio-linguistic perspective(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Wickramarachchi, M.The post-independence Ceylon was born almost seven decades ago inhering some of the most enduring conflicts, paradoxes and dilemmas of governance at the time. The local élite of the new post-colonial administration took over a top-down, centralized and long-established policy and governance structure from the British, but immediately faced the twin challenges of addressing the growing demands of the Ceylonese citizens and establishing their own legitimacy among them. By the mid-1950s revitalizing Sinhala basa or the Sinhala language had become inter alia a symbolic priority of a vocal group of agitators from the majority ethnic group, Sinhalese, who were in a quest to re-establish local identity, tradition and authenticity. This bottom-up demand also received the tacit support of local political élite, who saw the cultural capital of these demands as a way of politically legitimizing themselves in the eyes of the Sinhalese. The language policy adopted by the second government of the independent Ceylon in 1956 was a result of this localization-inclined political thinking which also brought about abiding and long-drawn-out consequences. Primarily based on the literature survey of historical documents, this paper analyses the key language-related developments during the first two decades of the independence of Ceylon by applying the ideologies of Einar Haugen (language planning) and Pierre Bourdieu (cultural capital, language & symbolic power). This paper limits itself to inferring and discussing the linguistic projects launched immediately before the Independence as a bottom-up language revitalization effort and how it turned out to be a larger political project, afterwards. While contextualizing the social and political developments of the era, this paper underlines that the formation of post-independence Ceylon’s language policy was born out of confrontations and dilemmas of the political elite and the local populace, intermingled with contemporary language and political thinking.Item නවකතා ඇසුරෙන් බිහිවූ ශ්‍රී ලාංකේය සිංහල වෘත්තාන්ත ටෙලි නාට්‍ය කලාව පිළිබඳ අධ්‍යයනයක් (ක්‍රි. ව. 1982 - ක්‍රි. ව. 2002 දක්වා විකාශය වූ නිර්මාණ ඇසුරෙන්)(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) විජේසුන්දර, ඩබ්ලිව්. එල්. එස්. එස්.නවකතා පාදකව නිර්මාණය කරන ලද ශ්‍රී ලාංකේය සිංහල රූපවාහිනි ටෙලි නාට්‍යය සම්බන්ධයෙන් සිදුකළ පර්යේෂණයකි. රූපවාහිනී ටෙලිනාට්‍ය මෙරට තුළ ඇරඹුණ ක්‍රි. ව. 1982 සිට වසර 20ක් දක්වා කාලය තුළ විකාශනය වූ ටෙලි නාට්‍ය මේ සඳහා පාදක විය. රූපවාහිනී මඟින් ප්‍රදර්ශිත සියලු නාට්‍ය පොදුවේ ටෙලිනාට්‍ය වශයෙන් හැඳින්විය හැකිය. ටෙලි නාට්‍යයක ගුණාත්මක බව, නිර්මාණශීලී බව, රූපවාහිනී ප්‍රේක්ෂකයාට මෙන්ම අධ්‍යක්ෂවරයාට ද එක ලෙස බලපායි. මෙම අධ්‍යයනය කිරීමේ ප්‍රධාන අරමුණු වූයේ, ක්‍රි. ව. 1982 - 2002 කාලය තුළ නවකතා ආශ්‍රිත ව බිහි වූ ශ්‍රී ලාංකේය ටෙලි නාට්‍ය හඳුනාගැනීමටත්, ටෙලි නාට්‍ය සඳහා නවකතා භාවිත කිරීමේ සාර්ථක අසාර්ථක බව හඳුනාගැනීමටත්, නවකතාව ටෙලි පිටපතක් ලෙස නිර්මාණය කිරීමේ දී අධ්‍යක්ෂවරයා විසින් සැලකිය යුතු කරුණු මොනවාදැයි අධ්‍යයනය කිරීමටයි. “ටෙලිනාට්‍ය හා නවකතාව යනු කලා මාධ්‍ය දෙකකි. ඒ ඒ මාධ්‍යයට ආවේණික ශාක්‍යතා හා ලක්ෂණ හිමිය” යන්නත් “මුල් කෘතිය වෙනස් කිරීම කෙරෙහි ටෙලි නාට්‍ය නිර්මාණකරුට අවශ්‍යතාවක් සහ අයිතියක් ඇත” යන්නත් මෙහි උපකල්පන වේ. මූලික ක්‍රමවේද 5ක් මත මෙහි දී පර්යේෂණය දියත් කරන ලද අ;ර ටෙලිනාට්‍ය හා නවකතාව වෙන් වෙන් වශයෙන් නරඹමින් හා කියවමින් මූලාශ්‍ර අධ්‍යයනය සිදුවිය. ක්‍රි. ව. 1982 - 2002 කාලය තුළ විකාශනය වී ඇති එම වසරවල සම්මාන උළෙලවල ලද සම්මාන අනුව තෝරාගත් යශෝරාවය, ගම්පෙරළිය, එකගෙයි කුරුල්ලෝ, චරිත තුනක්, බැද්දෙගෙදර, නිසලවිල කෘති හය මෙහි දී අධ්‍යයනයට යොදා ගැණින. එම ටෙලිනාට්‍ය අධ්‍යක්ෂවරයා, නවකතා රචකයා හා තිර පිටපත් රචකයා සමඟ සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡා කිරීම දෙවැනි ක්‍රමවේදය යි. ප්‍රශ්නාවලි ක්‍රමවේදයක් ඔස්සේ ප්‍රේක්ෂක හා අධ්‍යක්ෂ ප්‍රතිචාර විමසීමට ලක් කරන ලදී. ක්‍රි. ව. 1982 සිට රූපවාහිනී හා සාහිත්‍ය සම්මාන ලැයිස්තුවක් පරිශීලනය මත දත්ත පරිශීලනය කිරීම අනෙක් ක්‍රමවේදය ලෙසත් ක්‍රි. ව. 1982 දක්වා ටෙලිනාට්‍ය විකාශය වූ ප්‍රධාන නාලිකා වන ජාතික රූපවාහිනිය හා ස්වාධීන රූපවාහිනිය යන ආයතන අධ්‍යයනයක් කිරීමත් සිදුවිය. දත්ත විශ්ලේෂණයෙන් අනතුරුව අනාවරණය වූ කරුණු නම්, 1982- 2002 දක්වා කාලය තුළ විකාශය වූ ටෙලිනාට්‍ය අතරින් තම කතා තේමාව ලෙස නවකතාව තෝරාගෙන ඇති ටෙලිනාට්‍ය ප්‍රමාණය 40ක් වේ. ටෙලි නාට්‍ය අධ්‍යක්ෂවරුන්ගේ ප්‍රතිචාර අනුව නවකතා පාදක කරගත් නිර්මාණ සාර්ථක තත්ත්වයේ පවත්නා බව නිගමනය විය. ප්‍රේක්ෂක අදහස් විශ්ලේෂණයෙන් නිගමනය වුයේ මෙහි සාර්ථක අසාර්ථක බව 50% සමාන ලෙස පවතින බවයි.Item මහනුවර යුගයේ රෝපිත ඓතිහාසික බෝධි වෘක්ෂ(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) ගුණසිංහ, එච්.බෝ හෙවත් ඇසතු බෞද්ධයන්ගේ වන්දනාවට පාත්‍රවන, බුදුන් වහන්සේ සංකේතවත් කෙරෙන පූජනීය වෘක්ෂයකි. අනුරාධපුර යුගයේ දෙවනපෑතිස් රජ දවස සංඝමිත්තා මහරහත් මෙහෙණිය විසින් ජය ශ්‍රී මහාබෝධියේ දක්ෂිණ ශාඛාව ලක්දිවට වැඩම කරවීමත් සමග මෙරට බෝධි වන්දනාව ස්ථාපිත විය. එතැන් පටන් ශ්‍රී මහාබෝධි ශාඛා සහ වෙනත් බෝධි ශාඛා ලංකාවේ නොයෙක් ස්ථානවල, විවිධ හේතු මුල්කොටගෙන රජදරුවන් විසින් රෝපණය කරන ලද බවට තොරතුරු හමු වේ. ශ්‍රී මහා බෝධි ශාඛා හෝ වෙනත් බෝධි ශාඛා රාජානුග්‍රහයෙන් ලක්දිව පුරා රෝපණය කිරීමේ පදනම පිළිබඳ සොයා බැලීම මෙම අධ්‍යයනයේ අරමුණයි. ඒ යටතේ මහනුවර යුගයේදී ශ්‍රී මහාබෝධි ශාඛා හෝ වෙනත් බෝධි ශාඛා විශේෂිත හේතු අරබයා කන්ද උඩරට රෝපණය කරන ලද්දේ ද යන්න මෙහි අධ්‍යයන ගැටලුවයි. එහිදී අධ්‍යයන ක්‍රමවේද වශයෙන් සාහිත්‍ය මූලාශ්‍රය අධ්‍යයනය සහ ක්ෂේත්‍ර අධ්‍යයනය යොදාගන්නා ලදී. මහනුවර යුගයේදී කීර්ති ශ්‍රී රාජසිංහ රජතුමාගේ අනුග්‍රහයෙන් කන්ද උඩරට ශ්‍රී මහා බෝධි ශාඛා රෝපණය කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවක් පිළිබඳ තොරතුරු වාර්තා වේ. අනුරාධපුර වන්දනාවේ පිටත් වූ රජතුමා ශ්‍රී මහාබෝධියෙන් ලබාගත් බෝධි ශාඛා හයක් සුදුහුම්පොළ, නිත්තවෙල, ගංගාරාමය සහ ද`ඵක්ගොල්ල යන රජමහ විහාරවල රෝපණය කරවා නඩත්තුව වෙනුවෙන් ගම්වර පූජා කරනු ලැබ තිබේ. මල්වතු අස්ගිරි උභය මහාවිහාර සම සමව නියෝජනය වන පරිදි මෙම විහාර තෝරාගැනීම සුවිශේෂී ය. ඉතිරි බෝධි ශාඛා දෙක රෝපණය කර ඇත්තේ වැලිවිට සරණංකර සඟරජ මාහිමියන්ගේ මෑණියන් විසූ වැලිවිටවත්ත වලව්ව සමීපයේ උස් භූමියක ය. වර්තමානය දක්වා මෙම බෝධි ශාඛා සියල්ලම නිරුපද්‍රිතව පවතී. මීට අමතරව වර්ෂ 1638දී ගන්නෝරුව සටනේ ජයග්‍රහණය සිහිපත් කරමින් දෙවන රාජසිංහ, කුමාරසිංහ සහ විජයපාල යන සොයුරු රජවරුන් තිදෙනා කඳවුරුලා සිටි ස්ථානවල බෝධි ශාඛා තුනක් රෝපණය කර තිබේ. රාජසිංහ බෝධිය, කුමාරසිංහ බෝධිය සහ විජයපාල බෝධිය නමින් ප්‍රකට වූ මෙම බෝධි වෘක්ෂ අතරින් දැනට ඉතිරිව පවතින්නේ ගැටඹේ දියකපනාතොට ශ්‍රී රක්ඛංග විහාර පරිශ්‍රයේ පිහිටි රාජසිංහ බෝධිය සහ ගැටඹේ රාජෝපවනාරාම පරිශ්‍රයේ පිහිටි කුමාරසිංහ බෝධිය පමණකි. පේරාදෙණිය උද්භිද උද්‍යාන පරිශ්‍රයේ පිහිටි බව කියැවෙන විජයපාල බෝධිය මේ වන විට දක්නට නොලැබේ. අනුරාධපුර යුගයේ පටන් විවිධ අරමුණු මුල්කොටගෙන ශ්‍රී මහාබෝධි ශාඛා විවිධ ස්ථානවල රෝපණය කර තිබෙන බව හඳුනාගත හැකිය. මහනුවර යුගයේදී එය සිදුවන්නට ඇත්තේ අනුරාධපුර ශුද්ධ නගරය සහ කන්ද උඩරට රාජධානිය සමග ශාසනික සබඳතාවක් ගොඩනැගීමේ අරමුණින් බව පෙනේ. මීට අමතරව යුද ජයග්‍රහණ ආගමික මුහුණවරක් ඔස්සේ සැමරීමේ අපේක්ෂාව ඇතිව ද බෝධි රෝපණ සිදු කරන්නට ඇති බව පිළිගත හැකිය.Item Distribution of leishmaniasis cases and some demographic characters of patients recorded in the Medirigiriya medical officer of health (MOH) area, Polonnaruwa district of Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Karunarathna, D. M. N. P.; Udayanga, N. W. B. A. L.; Ranathunge, R. M. T. B.; Kumarawansha, W. K. W. S.; Ganehiarachchi, G. A. S. M.Leishmaniasis has been recognized as one of the major challenges to the health sector of many countries. In the Sri Lankan context also, leishmaniasis infections are increasing within the past few years. Evaluation of the spatio-temporal trends in leishmaniasis incidence strongly facilitates the management of leishmaniasis. Therefore, the current study was conducted to identify recent spatial and temporal trends in leishmaniasis distribution, while assessing the characteristics of susceptible population to leishmaniasis infection in the Medirigiriya Medical Officers of Health (MOH) area in the District of Polonnaruwa, which reported the highest number of Leishmaniasis cases over the period from 2015 to 2022. Monthly records of reported leishmaniasis cases in Medirigiriya MOH area were obtained at monthly intervals from Epidemiology Unit, Sri Lanka from January, 2018 to June, 2022. Spatial maps of the recorded leishmaniasis case distribution in each Public Health Inspector (PHI) area were developed using ArcGIS (version 10.8). The paired-Chi square was used to investigate the impact of gender and age on the infection. The Medirigiriya MOH area had reported a total of 418 cases within the study period. Among the five PHI areas, Medirigiriya (34.7%) and Diulankadawala (33.8%) PHI areas reported the highest incidence of leishmaniasis cases, emerging as the high-risk areas. Meanwhile, Ambagaswewa PHI area denoted the lowest susceptibility (7.6%). As suggested by the results of the paired-Chi square test, emergence of leishmaniasis was characterized with significant spatial and temporal trends (P<0.05). The Percentage Infected Male: Female Ratio (PIMFR) suggested that the, males had a relatively high susceptibility for leishmaniasis infection than females, with an average PIMFER of 62.4:37.6. Significant shifts in the age of leishmaniasis patients were identified throughout the study period (P<0.05). Population belonging to the age group of 40 to 60 years (44%) and 21 to 40 years (25.2%) were identified as the most vulnerable age group for the incidence of leishmaniasis. On the contrary, age groups of > 60 years reported the lowest vulnerability (9.2%) for leishmaniasis infection. The identification of the potential high risk PHI areas with high susceptibility to leishmaniasis, along with the vulnerable age groups in the community would assist the relevant vector controlling agencies to concentrate their efforts, ensuring the effective controlling of leishmaniasis outbreak occurrence within the Medirigiriya MOH.Item A comparison of food contamination by heavy metals/metalloids in CKDu prevalent areas and a reference area; A study in Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Perera, P. L. R. A.; Perera, W. P. R. T.; Liyanage, J. A.; Premaratne, W. A. P. J.During the past two decades, so many studies have been involved in exploring the relationship between the prevalence of chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) and exposure to toxic metals. These studies revealed signs of chronic low levels of toxic metal exposure in Sri Lanka. To assess the risk of negative health effects and propose appropriate public health interventions, novel research studies will be very beneficial. This assessment was performed to study the toxic metal contamination status in domestic rice, leafy vegetables, legumes, and citrus fruits in the CKDu prevalence area in north central province in Sri Lanka and to compare those levels with a reference area in the Eastern province in Sri Lanka where CKDu is not prevalent. CKDu hot spots areas Maradankulama- Mahakanadarawa in the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka was selected for sampling and Buddhangala Grama Niladhari area in Ampara district was selected as a reference site. Food samples, including (Oryza sativa; n=25, Centella asiatica; n=25, Citrus crenatiflora; n=18, Vigna radiata; n=10) were collected from the villager’s own paddy fields and home gardens of the CKDu suspected patients according to the random stratified sampling method in both areas and the collected food samples were digested by microwave digestion according to the standard procedures and the concentrations of metal ions in food samples, including Cadmium, Nickel, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Lead, Zinc, Arsenic, and Calcium, were measured using Inductive Coupled Plasma technique (ICP). As a results of the study, mean As and Pb concentrations of Oryza sativa (As-0.15 mg/kg, Pb-3.10 mg/kg) and Citrus crenatiflora (As-0.15 mg/kg, Pb-0.47 mg/kg), Pb (0.65 mg/kg) and Cd (0.05 mg/kg) content in Centella asiatica, and mean concentrations of As (0.14 mg/kg), Pb (9.25 mg/kg) and Cu (57.8 mg/kg) in Vigna radiata have exceeded the permissible limits given by the FAO and WHO, 2011: As-0.1 mg/kg, Pb-0.1 mg/kg, Cd-0.05 mg/kg, Cr-2.3 mg/kg, Cu-40 mg/kg. However, none of the food samples collected from the reference areas has exceeded the permissible limits of analyzed heavy metals/metalloids. THQ (Target Hazard Quotient) values of Cr have exceeded the threshold values for all food species. Furthermore, Pb is also regarded as a toxic element and THQ values of Pb in Oryza sativa and Vigna radiate are noticeably high. Meanwhile, THQ values of the food samples in the reference areas have not exceeded the threshold values. According to the outcome of the study, there is a noticeable difference reported in toxic metals contamination status between the CKDu-prone areas and the reference area. Therefore, the consumption of analyzed rice, leafy vegetables, and legumes was estimated to be risky, and their regular consumption may boost the likelihood of CKDu prevalence in those areas. Further studies are required to monitor and assess heavy metals and metalloids in soil, and fertilizers to find the pathways of contamination of food by toxic metals.Item Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using five varieties of Mirabilis Jalapa flower extracts; evaluation of antioxidant, antimicrobial and photocatalytic activity(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Kandiah, M; Perera, S.Nanoparticles are small molecules (1-100nm) with extra-ordinary physiochemical properties. Characteristic properties of metallic-nanoparticles have led to an upsurge of interest. This study aims at green-synthesis of silver-nanoparticles (AgNPs) using variants of Mirabilis jalapa flower extracts and evaluation of their antioxidant, antimicrobial and photocatalytic activity. In the process of bottom-up synthesis of AgNPs, water was used in extracting the biomolecules which function as reducing, capping and stabilizing agents. Several phytochemical tests including Molisch’s and Millon’s test were conducted to confirm the presence of phytochemicals. In the study, AgNPs attained within 24h at room-temperature depicted a dark brown color change, visually confirming AgNP synthesis. UV-visible spectrum gave an absorption maximum at 480nm that corresponded with the surface plasmon resonance of silver. SEM analysis showed needle and spherical shape AgNPs ranging from 50-70nm. Total Flavonoid Content (TFC), Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) were analyzed by Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3) colorimetric method, Folin Ciocalteu reaction, and Molybdenum reduction reaction respectively. DPPH assay was conducted to study free-radical scavenging activity. One-way ANOVA statistical analysis was used to analyze the TFC, TPC, TAC and antibacterial activity variance between water extracts and the AgNPs. Antioxidant activity of AgNPs were significantly higher than the water extracts. The relationship between TFC, TPC and TAC was expressed using Pearson correlation (correlation >0.90). The synthesized AgNPs were classified as semi-conductors and the photocatalytic degradation of methyl-orange using 4000ppm of W-AgNPs (Rate constant=0.2501) in the presence of NaBH4 was faster than 267ppm of W-AgNPs (Rate constant=0.0103). Antibiotic activity testing was carried out by following the well diffusion technique. The water extracts and W-AgNPs showed high antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, even though there was no significant difference. Thereby, AgNPs synthesized using varieties of Mirabilis jalapa flower extracts could produce promising results in medical research in developing treatment against free-radical induced diseases, antibiotic resistant bacteria and degradation of azo-dyes in industrial wastewater, to improve living standards.Item Occupation stress and work-family conflict: A study in ABC Clothing (Pvt) Limited, Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Silva, R. D.; Subhashi, S.In this modern work framework, numerous employees confront work-family conflict challenges. Work-family conflict is a circumstance where an individual faces incompatible demands from work roles and family roles. These days, employees spend more time on work and engage more in job responsibilities than family which leads to work-family conflict. One of the main reasons which emerge from work-family conflict is due to occupational stress. Increasing occupational stress contributes to lower productivity, industrial accidents, higher absenteeism, employee turnover, physical and mental health problems, and family problem. ABC Clothing (Pvt) Ltd is one of the leading apparel manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka that export clothing to the United States and Europe countries. Discussion with the Human resource manager found a high turnover rate and decrease in overall production when compared to the previous few years. As per the opinion of the counselor; long hours, work pressure, and workload as the main reasons which lead to stress among the staff. She also addressed the issue of domestic violence among employees as an effect of occupational stress. In addition, most of the workforce does not reside close to the workplace. As a result, they live in boarding houses or travel long hours which also became a reason for work-family conflict. Therefore, this study attempts to examine married employees’ perspectives on occupational stress and work-family conflict. The purpose of the study is to determine the stressors and their impact on work-family conflict among married employees of ABC Clothing (Pvt) Limited, Dickwella, Sri Lanka. Questionnaires were distributed among 75 married employees to gather primary data. The researcher considered work-family conflict as a dependent variable which was measured using 8 items. Job demand, job appreciation, and role ambiguity were considered as dimensions of occupational stress. Each dimension was measured using 3 indicators; working hours, workload, and work pressure; financial benefits, non-financial reward, and recognition; job description, task instruction, and work expectation. Based on the analysis, 67% of respondents were women, and 33% were men. According to descriptive statistics, all job demand indicators show high mean values of 4.53, 4.23, and 4.21. It also found that employees are dissatisfied with job appreciation factors. Based on the multiple regression model, it revealed that, except for the job description, all the components of job stress are significant at the 0.05 level. It validates that a 1point increase in long working hours, workload, work pressure, poor financial benefits, poor non-financial reward, lack of recognition, lack of clarity in the job description, unclear task instruction, and work expectation leads to an increase in work-family conflict by 5.063, 3.078, 4.082, 1.432, .609, .362, .148, .073, and 3.685. Therefore, the organization needs to pay closer attention to working hours, workload, work pressure, and work expectations issues. It suggests that job duties and tasks should be clearly defined and should be made clear to the employees. Supervisors should provide clear instructions and guidelines on work expectations from employees.Item The humoral theory and human psychology in traditional medical systems of ancient Greek medicine and Ayurveda medicine(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Randiwela, R. M. D. S.The humoral theory is one basic principle which identified a number of bodily liquids as the main constituents of living beings. Thereby health is the maintenance of balance between these Humors while diseases are their imbalance. Its earliest roots in the West can be detected in Greek medicine in the medical cult practices of Asclepius in Asclepeions (700 BCE) and later in Hippocrates who was an Asclepiad (460 – 377BCE). In the East, the humoral theory can be witnessed in Ayurveda (1000 BCE) as the concept of Tridosha. Moreover, both systems highlighted that the levels of Humors not only affect the humans physically causing disease but also psychologically diseasing the mind as well. For instance, Greek medicine identifies as the Humors of blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile and the four temperaments of Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic and Phlegmatic which ultimately decided the attributes of a person. Ayurveda recognizes three bodily liquids named Tridosas of vatha ‘Air’, pitha ‘Bile’ and kapha ‘Phlegm’ as the key to the maintenance of physical health while Trigunas or three virtues of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas maintained wellbeing of the human psychology. Moreover, both systems believed in maintaining a relative proportion of Humors in the human body to be regulating the human temperament along with behavioral manifestations. Thereby the objective of this paper is to analyze the Theories of Humors in Ancient Greek medicine and Ayurveda medicine and its effect on human psychology, the effect of human psychology on the balancing and unbalancing of Humors and identify the parallels in their identification, approach and treatments. Moreover, it will also analyze the holistic approach apparent in both Greek medicine and Ayurveda medicine where the human was considered as a psychosomatic entity. This paper will use Historic method under Qualitative research methodology as this study will have to read, analyze and interpret historical material in English and Sinhala translations as its main device for gathering and analyzing information. Thus, this will mainly involve the finding, reading, evaluating, organizing and synthesizing of both primary sources and secondary sources relevant to the topic in order to finally arrive at the purpose of the study. In conclusion, it can be observed that though there is a similarity in the identification of Humors and its effect on temperaments and mind conditions as apparent in Greek medicine and Ayurveda medicine, the approach in their classification, identification and number are different. However, it can be concluded that in traditional medical systems identified as in Greek medicine and in Ayurveda medicine, the knowledge on functioning of Humors and its relation on temperaments and Trigunas can be identified as a depiction of scientific perception of mental health in traditional medical systems. Moreover, the significance of mental wellbeing to the overall physical wellbeing and physical wellbeing to the mental wellbeing are also apparent.Item Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Cinnamomum verum leaf extracts and determination of their antioxidant, antimicrobial activity and photocatalytic activity(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Kandiah, M.; Shahna, S.With the rapid development of Nanotechnology, its applications have influenced on all sectors of human life and opened up a spectrum of research opportunities. Green synthesis of nanoparticles had gained special attention as they are ecofriendly, non-toxic, and cost effective. In this study, five varieties of Cinnamon verum leaf extracts were used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) (Cinnamon Sri Gemunu, Cinnamon dubium, Cinnamon Sri Wijaya, Cinnamon sinharajanese and Cinnamon revulorum). The leaf samples were collected from Cinnamon Research Institute in Matara, Sri Lanka. The leaf extracts were obtained after incubating the air-dried samples at 600C for 30 minutes with distilled water. The extracts were mixed with AgNO3 and incubated at 600C, 900C and at room temperature, and all five varieties indicated a color change to pale brown confirming the presence of AgNPs and indicated a distinct peak from 420-480 nm when characterized by UV spectrophotometry. Phytochemical tests for carbohydrates, amino acids, saponins, tannins, quinones, terpenoids and glycosides were carried on the leaf extracts and antioxidant activity was determined by TPC, TFC, TAC, DPPH and IC50 assays. The results from these assays showed a high antioxidant activity in AgNPs compared to its water extracts. A dried smear of AgNP sample was dissolved with distilled water and sent to Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTECH) for Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. This resulted in spherical particles of 50 nm, and they all behaved as semiconductors. The antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S.aureus was determined by well diffusion technique with saline as a negative control and Gentamycin as a positive control. There was no significant difference in the antimicrobial activity of AgNPs and the water extracts. At two different concentrations, 266 ppm and 4000 ppm, photocatalytic activity was determined for AgNPs using methylene blue under UV and sunlight. AgNPs showed a better degradation of methylene blue at 266 ppm with and without the catalyst (NaBH4). Finally, all the results concluded that Cinnamon verum is a good source of nanoparticle synthesis and can be useful in medical research and to create an ecofriendly environment.Item “නෙළුම” සමකාලීන දේශපාලනික බලය සහ දෘෂ්ටිවාදයන් අර්ථගැන්වීමේ සංකේතයක් ලෙස; කොළඹ නාගරික දෘශ්‍ය අවකාශය ඇසුරෙන්(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) ධමශ්‍රී, සී. පී.පසුගිය දශකය තුළ කොළඹ නාගරික භූමි අවකාශය ශීඝ්‍ර ලෙස සංවර්ධනය විය. එම නාගරික පරිසරය තුළ භෞතිකව ගොඩනඟන ලද ගොඩනැගිලි, මංමාවත් මෙන්ම සංස්කෘතිකමය වශයෙන් ගොඩනංවනු ලබන අවකාශයන් මගින් එය දෘශ්‍යමාන වේ. ඒවා කොළඹ නාගරික අවකාශයේ ස්වරූපය වෙනස්වීමට බලපෑම සු`එපටු නොවේ. මෙම පර්යේෂණයෙන් අවධානයට යොමු වනුයේ කොළඹ නාගරික අවකාශය තුළ ගොඩනඟා තිබෙන සහ ගොඩනැංවීමට යෝජිත ගොඩනැගිලි සහ මංමාවත් මෙන්ම කොළඹ නාගරික අවකාශය කේන්ද්‍ර කොටගෙන ගොඩනැගුණු සමාජ, දේශපාලන හා සංස්කෘතික සංවිධානය කෙරෙහිය. එහි විශේෂත්වය වනුයේ දේශපාලනික බලය සහ දෘෂ්ටිවාදයන් මත පිහිටා යථෝක්ත අංශවලට ‘නෙළුම’ සංකේතයක් ලෙසට නාමකරණය කර තිබිමය. සන්නිවේදන කුළුණක් ලෙස නම් කර ඇති නෙළුම් කුළුණ, නෙළුම් පොකුණ රංග ශාලාව, යෝජිත කටුනායක ගුවන් තොටුපලේ ආකෘතිය ඉන් සමහරෙකි. එමෙන්ම මෑත දශක කිහිපය තුළ කොළඹ කේන්ද්‍රීයව ගොඩනැඟුණු සමාජ, දේශපාලන හා සංස්කෘතික සංවිධාන මෙන්ම කණ්ඩායම් නාමකරණයේ දී ද නෙළුම සංකේතයක් ලෙස භාවිත කර ඇත. සුදු නෙළුම් ව්‍යාපාරය, මානෙල් මල් ව්‍යාපාරය, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ, පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය වැනි සංවිධාන ඉන් කිහිපයකි. එම සංවිධාන ප්‍රවර්ධනය පිණිස නෙළුම සංකේතවක් වන බැනර්, නාම පුවරු, දැන්වීම් හා කොඩි යනාදිය නාගරික අවකාශ තුළ ප්‍රදර්ශනය විය. එයින් ප්‍රත්‍යක්ෂ වනුයේ මෙවැනි ක්‍රියාකාරකම් හුදු අහඹුවක් නොව සවිඥානික දේශපාලනික ක්‍රියාදාමයක් බවයි. නෙළුම සංකේතවත් කරන සංඥාව පොදු නාගරික අවකාශය තුළ දැක ගැනීම නිර්වචනය කළ හැකි වන්නේ බලයට සාපේක්‍ෂවය. එසේ වනුයේ බලය හරහා අවකාශය අර්ථ ගැන්වීමත් අවකාශය හරහා බලය තීරණය වීමත් හේතු කොටගෙනය. මෙසේ බලය පිළිබඳ හැඟීමක්, දෘෂ්ටිවාදයක් අර්ථ ගැන්වීමේ සංකේතයක් ලෙස නෙළුම භාවිතයට ගැනීමේ පසුබිම පිළිබඳ ව විමර්ශනයක් මෙතෙක් සිදුව නැති අතර මේ පර්යේෂණයේ ගැටලුව ද එය වේ. ඒ අනුව මෙහි අරමුණ වන්නේ නෙළුම නමැති සංකේතය කොළඹ නාගරික අවකාශයේ බලය සහ දේශපාලන දෘෂ්ටිවාදයන් අර්ථ ගැන්වීම කෙරෙහි කුමන ආකාරයේ බලපෑමක් සිදුකර තිබේද යන්නය. එමෙන්ම ශ්‍රී ලාංකේය දෘශ්‍ය කලා ඉතිහාසයේ කාලානුරූපී වෙනස්වීම කෙරෙහි නෙළුම යන සාධකය කෙසේ බලපෑ ඇද්දැයි විමර්ශනය කිරීම මෙහි තවත් අරමුණකි.Item International trade in post-pandemic era: perspectives of growth, investment & supply chain in South Asia & Southeast Asia(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Ramanayake, S. S.; Marwah, R.Ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus in late 2019, more than 5 million people worldwide have lost their lives, in addition to the closure of businesses. The global economy contracted by a staggering 4.3 percent in 2020. The fallout on trade, investment, supply chains, and manufacturing sectors was particularly grave, with cascading impacts on developing countries' GDP, employment, and livelihoods. This article examines the global context of the pandemic on growth rates, international trade, and investment, explicitly focusing on South Asia (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Cambodia). These countries are the major suppliers of readymade garments (RMG) to western markets. Simultaneously, the highest percentage in export earnings represents the RMG sector; furthermore, most Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flew into this sector. Therefore, this paper assesses the supply chain disruptions in the RMG sector, given that all four countries are critically dependent on this sector to power their growth. The issue of raw materials and the decline in demand from western markets are also examined to understand the extent to which job losses and factory closures have been experienced, though the impacts on all the countries are differentiated, particularly some countries that China has profoundly impacted in terms of trade. Therefore, this paper has highlighted these issues in detail responding to these questions. First, what are the COVID-19 impacts on trade in these countries? (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia). Second, what are the supply chain disruptions in these four countries? Third, what are the specific impacts on the readymade garment industry? Fourth, what are the pandemic impacts on FDI? And finally, what is the way forward? As methodology, this study conducted a comparative analysis using statistical data related to the indicators in both pre-pandemic and post-pandemic eras. The main finding revealed that Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia are prepared to adapt to the dynamic changes that could disrupt production and consumption within the RMG sector, contributing substantively to export earnings and employment. Thus, each country's reactions and recovery periods are different and diverse. Therefore, several policy prescriptions are listed for SA and SEA to overcome bottlenecks of supplies of raw materials, the importance of government support, and shorter and diversified supply chains. Furthermore, this gives some thought to these two regions to enhance regional cooperation to facilitate faster recovery in the Post-Pandemic Era.Item An ecological approach for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using leaf extracts of six species of genus Adiantum and assessing their antibacterial, antioxidant and photocatalytic activity(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Samarasinha, S.; Kandiah, M.Biogenic synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is an efficient replacement of chemical and physical synthesis systems burdened with heavy cost and toxicity. Moreover, eco-friendly synthesis of metallic NPs is currently flourishing due to its wide applications in many fields of science, may it be in medicine or the sustainable development of the environment. This research focuses on the first report of synthesis of metallic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) which were biosynthesized using six species of the genus Adiantum commonly known as Maiden-hair ferns. The six species which were utilized for the synthesis possess their own specialized uses in ethno medicine in different regions of the world ranging from Asia to Europe. While all six samples produced AgNPs they were first optimized under different time and temperature scales. Water extracts of the plant sample and AgNPs were assessed for antioxidant activity via Total Flavonoid Content (TFC), Total Phenol Content (TPC), Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), DPPH and IC50 assays. Photocatalytic activity of AHI (Adiantum hispidulum), the best sample of synthesized nanoparticles, was observed by the degradation of methylene blue. Antibacterial activity was tested using two common bacterial species Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The TPC, TFC and TAC assays indicated high antioxidant capacity in synthesized AgNPs but contradictorily DPPH and IC50 showed lower antioxidant activity. The assessment of photocatalytic activity against methylene blue dye showed different rate constants for 100 and 500 ppm samples insinuating that concentration may enhance rate of degradation. TEM results of AHI AgNPs showed that their shapes as spherical, rod shaped, rectangular and triangular NPs. The sizes varied from 15nm-50nm. Antibacterial activity of AgNPs was higher in both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, AgNPs biosynthesized from decorative and wild-grown species of genus Adiantum of which extraordinary medicinal and antibacterial properties have not been grasped by many is applicable in many industries around the world and can aid in the sustainable maintenance of the environment with nanotechnology.Item In silico evaluation of coconut milk phenolic antioxidants and their metabolites by human gut bacteria(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Wadanambi, P. M.; Chamikara, V; Perera, S. M.; Seneviratne, K. N.; Jayathilaka, N.Coconut milk (CM) or the aqueous extract of grated coconut meat is used in culinary applications when preparing both vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods in many Asian countries. Despite CM is traditionally known to be beneficial for gut health, scientific evidence supporting such claims is extremely limited. The beneficial properties of phenolic antioxidants on gut microbiota suggest that phenolic-rich CM may also benefit gut health. Human intestinal gut microbiota plays a vital role in metabolizing dietary components that enter the intestinal tract. These metabolites possess molecular characteristics as well as biological activities, pharmacokinetic and toxicity properties that are different from their parent compounds. Due to a lack of experimental data to examine the gut microbial metabolism of phenolic compounds of CM, a computational study was designed to predict its phenolic metabolites. Our previous high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) study reported seven phenolic acids in the CM extract. BioTransformer 3.0 web-based tool was used to predict metabolic transformations of the seven phenolic acids by human gut bacteria. In silico studies were conducted to predict the antioxidant, intestinal anti-inflammatory, antibacterial activities and toxicity of the phenolic compounds and their metabolites using PASS and ProTox-II web servers respectively. The safety of the phenolic compounds of CM and their metabolites were also evaluated based on the endocrine-disrupting effect and the probability of interaction with multiple human receptors using Endocrine Disruptome web server. The in silico analysis of human gut microbial biotransformation predicted the formation of 41 metabolites from 7 parent phenolic compounds present in CM. Most of the parent phenolic acids and the predicted metabolites of CM were shown to have moderate to high antioxidant, intestinal anti-inflammatory activity and antibacterial activity with Probable activity (Pa) > Probable inactivity (Pi) values. Most of the metabolites had a low probability of binding to human nuclear receptors, causing small risks to the endocrine system and posing minimal risk to human health. Moreover, the results revealed that only a few compounds have a weak mutagenic and hepatotoxic potential, while all compounds were devoid of cytotoxicity. However, further in vitro and in vivo testing is required to confirm the impact of these parent phenolic acids and their metabolites on diverse gut microbes and human health and in promoting CM as a functional food as well as a vegan replacement for cow’s milk.Item Entomological and epidemiological investigations in a newly established focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Kegalle district, Sri Lanka(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Wickramasinghe, K.; Wijerathna, T.; Gunathilaka, N.; Perera, A.; Bandara, S.Leishmaniasis is a protozoan infection transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. The published information on the vector distribution, abundance and potential risk factors that are favorable for disease transmission in Kegalle district are not available. Hence, understanding the trends in disease establishment, epidemiological characteristics, and the bioclimatic suitability of the area for disease prediction. The total number of leishmaniasis patients notified in Kegalle district and Sri Lanka from 2016-2020 was obtained from the Epidemiology Unit, Sri Lanka. Rambukkana and Warakapola Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas that have reported the highest numbers of cases from 2016 – 2018 in Kegalle district were selected as the study sites in the current study. Patients were visited and socio-economic, demographic, environmental and awareness-related information was collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. A randomly selected household with no records of CL in the same locality of the patient household was included as the control group to match the case group at a 1:1 ratio. Entomological surveys were conducted from July 2019- July 2020 using standard entomological techniques. Bioclimatic suitability was evaluated using ecological niche modeling (ENM). A total of 107 patients were reported from Rabukkana and Warakapola MOH areas from 2016-2020. Of them 88 were traced and included in the study. The risk factors were assessed using the chi squared test at 95% confidence intervals. Age was divided into ten-year age groups for analysis. The findings indicate that leishmaniasis in the Kegalle district progressed to the outbreak level within 3 years since the first recorded case in 2016. School students (n=22, 25%, P<0.05) and individuals between 11-20 years of age (n = 33, 37.5%, P<0.05) were identified as the main risk groups. The presence of composting sites (n=65, 73.9%, P<0.05) that provide potential breeding grounds for sand flies, abandoned lands (n=63, 71.6%, P<0.05) which are potential diurnal resting sites of adult sand flies, and suboptimal (dark or normal) lighting conditions (n=87, 98.8%, P<0.05) in the house that may facilitate vector activity were denoted as significant risk factors for leishmaniasis occurrence compared the control group. The level of awareness of the disease was poor in both the test and control groups. Ecological niche modeling revealed that the areas closer to the Kurunegala district, a predominant leishmaniasis endemic district in the intermediate zone, have high bioclimatic suitability for leishmaniasis. The sand flies including, P. argentipes (n=121, 42%) and S. zeylanica (n=164, 56.9%) were present in high densities in this area. Hence, the control efforts focused on raising awareness, while implementing vector control and effective case management, prioritizing the high-risk areas is vital.Item Value of multimodal instruction on improving procedural skill proficiency among medical undergraduates: A study from a Sri Lankan medical faculty(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Kodikara, K. G.; Seneviratne, H. M. T. W.; Premarathna, B. A. H. R.Acquisition of basic procedural skills is important for the medical students to practice as clinicians. Traditionally, such skills were taught or acquired by medical students at the bedside in the hospital setting during their clinical attachments. Skills laboratory training has been introduced to mitigate the ethical issues arising from practicing invasive procedures with inadequate training. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation-based training and bed-side teaching for skill acquisition in the domain of procedural skills. Volunteer second-year medical students participated in this longitudinal cohort study. All participants rated their self-confidence and competence in performing venipuncture on a real patient (baseline). Afterwards, all the students underwent a simulation-based training (SBT) session followed by four-weeks of bed-side teaching/learning (BST) during clinical attachments in the hospital setting. The students rated their self-confidence and competence in performing venipuncture on real patients following simulation-based training and clinical training. Similarly, an independent assessor who was blinded to the study design scored the student’s performance following each method of training using the Integrated Procedural Protocol Instrument (IPPI). Simulated patients and real patients assessed the communication skills of the students using a Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) following the skills-lab training and clinical training respectively. A sample of 55 students included in the study. Majority were females (63.64%,35/55). The self-assessment ratings of both the confidence and competence of students were significantly higher following the simulation-based training (p < 0.01). A further increased in both self-competence and confidence (p < 0.01) was observed with the clinical training following simulation-based training. The independent assessment showed a significant increase of means across all categories of IPPI ratings (mean SBT: 2.35; mean BST: 2.78; p < 0.01). Student’s doctor-patient communication skills were rated significantly higher by real patients in the clinical setting when compared with the ratings given by simulated patients (mean SBT: 2.46; mean BST: 3.76; p < 0.01). This study confirmed the effectiveness of simulation-based training in procedural skill acquisition. A significant improvement in technical and communication skills as well as self-confidence and competence were observed following clinical training. This study demonstrated that simulation-based training compliments the bed-side learning and that a mix of these teaching/learning modalities substantially augments the clinical performance of medical students. A multimodal instruction for developing procedural skills can be recommended for undergraduate procedural skills training.Item Comparison of Sebia capillary electrophoresis with the Bio-Rad VARIANT II HPLC in the evaluation of HbA2 in diagnosing beta thalassemia(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Thilakarathne, S.; Wickramasinghe, M. G. C. N.; Perera, H. L.; Premawardhena, A. P.The guideline for diagnosis of beta thalassemia trait in Sri Lanka defines low red cell indices (MCV<80 fl, MCH<27 pg) in FBC and HbA2>3.5% by quantification. Different cutoffs for HbA2 value are used in other countries (i.e. in India >4%). Thus, the precision of the HbA2 value is crucial for labelling a person as beta thalassemia trait. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) are two different techniques for quantifying HbA2 levels. This study aims to compare the HbA2 results of these two systems in individuals with varying HbA2 values and to assess the consistency when repeated of the two systems. The Bio-Rad VARIANT II HPLC (Bio-Rad, Hercules, USA) and the Sebia Capillarys CE (software version 9.3) analyzers were used as directed by the manufacturer. Using normal and pathological quality control materials, we determined the quality parameter, "between day precision", of both analyzers as per CLSI guidelines (EP15-A2 document). EDTA anticoagulated blood samples of patients (203) were analyzed by both methods during a 3- months period. Subjects (100) with HbA2 values between 1.8-3.3% were considered non-beta thalassemic, i.e. normal, while individuals (50) with HbA2 values >4.1% were categorized as beta thalassemia trait. We defined HbA2 levels as borderline (53) if they were between 3.4 and 4.0%. Incompatible FBC patterns and iron deficiency anemia was excluded from each group. Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software. HbA2 values by the CE method were slightly but significantly lower than those of the HPLC method, with a mean difference of 0.24 (Paired t-test; p <0.001). Also, HbA2 results by HPLC and CE methods showed a good relationship between each other (Pearson coefficient correlation; r was 0.98). We statistically analyzed this variation and relationship separately among normal, beta thalassemia trait and borderline groups. The variation in HbA2 value was high (mean difference; 0.27) among the normal group, while it was less (mean difference; 0.15) among beta thalassemia traits. The beta thalassemia trait group showed the highest positive relationship (r=0.92). The borderline group showed the least positive relationship (r=0.76). However, both analytical systems showed very close results (CV< 10%) when repeating the same sample between different days. This confirmed the excellent repeatability and acceptability of generated results by both analyzers. In conclusion, HbA2 values obtained from the two methods have a consistent and significant difference in normal, beta thalassemia trait and borderline samples. The variation in HbA2 values between CE and HPLC methods will make the accurate diagnosis of beta thalassemia traits more difficult based on a single reference cutoff value in the borderline group. Therefore, when issuing a diagnosis of beta thalassemia trait in borderline values, this machinerelated variation of the HbA2 level should be borne in mind.