ICAPS-2021

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/23880

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Status of cattle gastrointestinal parasitism and associated risk factors in Kilinochchi district, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Luxsika, S.; Piratheepan, S.
Kilinochchi district is situated in the Northern part of Sri Lanka and the people there traditionally practice livestock and crop integrated farming. This district has a high potential for livestock integrated crop farming practices hence this sector is considered as a major source of income for the farming community. Gastrointestinal parasitism is a condition caused by gastrointestinal parasites, and is a major impediment to livestock production. A cross-sectional study was carried out to quantify the risk factors (age, breed, rearing system, grazing system, deworming and frequency of deworming) associated with gastrointestinal parasitism in cattle in the Kilinochchi district from January 2020 to July 2020. For this study, a total of 106 cattle were selected from four veterinary divisions in the Kilinochchi district. Fecal samples were collected and coprological examinations were done by using standard flotation and sedimentation techniques, and questionnaire survey was conducted with the farmers. The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasitic infestation was 89% (n=90). Based on the result of fecal examination and data analyzed from questionnaire survey there was a significant difference between age, breed, rearing system, grazing system, deworming, and frequency of deworming with the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites (p<0.05). Infestation in elderly cattle (>6yrs) was found to be high (33%) compared to the young cattle. The local breed (36%) had a higher infestation level than crossbreed (64%). The highest infestation level was observed in crop-livestock integrated farming systems (67%) and semi-intensive farming systems (62%). Female (78%) cattle were more infected than the male cattle (28%). In this study area, only 68% (n=50) of the farmers were found practicing deworming their cattle; among these cattle, 49% were infected by gastrointestinal parasites. However these cattle were dewormed at different time intervals so that the highest infestation level was observed in cattle that were dewormed at a one-year time interval (33%). Nearly 32% of the farmers were not practicing deworming. Further, most of the cattle in the semi intensive and crop–livestock farming systems were found to be infected by gastrointestinal parasites.
An image processing approach to detect the quality of cinnamon sticks
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Sandamali, H. A. C.; Liyanage, C. R.
Cinnamon is one of the most important and valuable spices in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka ranks first in world cinnamon production and has a long-standing reputation in the international market due to its unique quality, colour, flavour, and aroma. While Sri Lanka is a world market leader, meeting quality standards is a major issue Sri Lankan cinnamon exporters face. There are several types of cinnamon grades and different prices for each grade. The selling price of cinnamon will be determined by the most available type of grade in a cinnamon bale. However, in real practice, the quality grades of cinnamon bales are determined through collectors’ experience and knowledge, and there is no automated system to accurately identify the quality of cinnamon. Therefore, in some situations, disadvantages arise for the farmers when the majority of sticks in a bale are from a lower grade, where they will not get a suitable price for the higher grade portion. To address these issues, this study presents an image processing method to automatically detect the quality grades of cinnamon quills without any expert knowledge. Mainly, the quality of cinnamon quills will be measured based on the diameter, ash percentage, length, and colour. The current study has developed a model by considering all these four factors. As there are slight differences between each grade, a highly precise solution is needed to detect the grades accurately. Therefore, especially the image collection and pre-processing were done with extra caution. During the phases; calculating the diameter, finding the percentage of patches, and calculating the length, the accuracy of the results were evaluated based on a reference issued by the department of export agriculture, Sri Lanka. This reference contains the standardized values of maximum diameter, maximum patch percentage, minimum length, and the number of sticks per kilogram according to each cinnamon grade. Moreover, the accuracy of the measurement of colour was evaluated against a reference(DSLS 81) supplied by the Sri Lankan Standards Institute. The individual accuracies of each stage were 73, 85, 80, and 68 percent in measuring the diameter, colour, length, and patch percentage, respectively, and the accuracy of the final result was around 65 percent. In conclusion, this model will help to identify the quality of cinnamon quills accurately and efficiently compared to manual measurements.
Luminescent studies of europium (III) fluorobenzoic acid derivatives: Correlating the calculated electronic energies and the experimental luminescent efficiencies through computational studies
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Silva, C. R. De; Fratarcangeli, M.
Europium (III)-based luminescent complexes promise extensive potential applications in immunoassay technology, high throughput drug screening, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), and biomedical imaging. Europium-ligand complexes present unique properties such as monochromatic emission at 614 nm, long luminescent lifetimes enabling time-resolved measurements, minimal photobleaching, and large Stokes shifts. Ligand design for enhancing the quantum efficiency of europium complexes is currently active. For this reason, it is important to understand the electronic mechanisms that allow europium-metal complexes to fluoresce. Here, we report the structural and spectroscopic properties of a series of europium (III) complexes containing fluorobenzoic acid derivatives using density functional theory calculations. Calculations were carried out using the B3LYP method and 6-31G* and 6-311+G** basis sets. Upon increasing the ligand fluorination, the absorption maximum wavelength shows a blue shift. Excited state energy gaps of the complexes were found to be sensitive to the identity and the position of the ligand substituents. A nitro substitution results in a decrement of the vertical excited states, significantly reducing the luminescent quantum yield. The inter-system crossing energy gap is strongly regulated by the position of the ligand substituent. It is significantly reduced by having substituents closer to the metal coordination site. The optimum energy gaps resulting in enhanced luminescent quantum yields were identified. The correlation among the calculated experimental luminescent quantum yields and the calculated electronic energy levels will be discussed to provide insight into designing highly luminescent europium complexes.
Can mangrove blue carbon help counteract climate change? A case study in Rekawa, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Arulnayagam, A.; Park, J.
Blue carbon to assist climate change has gained recent attention with increasing nature-based mitigation methods. Mangrove ecosystems with their high primary productivity, efficiently sequester carbon in their anaerobic sediment. Carbon sink function of mangrove ecosystems has been acknowledged as a potential tool in climate change mitigation. However, achieving full potential of blue carbon services of mangrove ecosystems requires evidence-based research and reporting to bridge the knowledge gaps. The present study aimed to report the blue carbon potential of mangrove ecosystems in Rekawa lagoon and its’ potential contribution to mitigate climate change. Field work was conducted in December 2019, with 10m wide belt transects (n=6) laid across water-land gradient to collect data on mangrove vegetation structure and sediment organic carbon content. Mangrove species along the transect were identified, enumerated, and measured Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) for overstory trees with DBH >5cm. Sediment cores were taken along the same transect to 45cm depths and subsampled to three portions representing sediment in 15 cm intervals. Carbon in above ground plant biomass was estimated with the use of biomass based allometric equations. One portion of sediment samples with known volume was oven dried and measured for bulk density while the rest was measured for total organic carbon (TOC %) with elemental analyzer, which were later used for the calculation of sediment organic carbon (SOC). Organic carbon in plant biomass and SOC together represent total ecosystem carbon (TEC) pool. We identified 10 true mangrove species with DBH ranging from 6.0 to 13.5 cm. The site showed high plant density (18911 no. ha-1) with high diversity (H’=2.03). TEC pool of the site was 209.30 ± 45.40 MgC ha-1. The aboveground, belowground and SOC of the mangroves were (mean ± SD) 33.64 ± 1.05 MgC ha-1, 13.12 ± 0.41 MgC ha-1, and 162.50 ± 45.20 MgC ha-1. SOC accounted for nearly 78% of the TEC stock. There was gradual increment in SOC stock with increasing depth. If disturbed the site can emit an average of 768.10 ± 67.90 Mg CO2 ha-1. The site is highly vulnerable to tourism development and urbanization, yet carries relatively higher amounts of carbon in their sediments. This demands for an enhanced awareness and scientific understanding for developing strategies for conservation and restoration of blue carbon pool of this mangrove ecosystem
Data Envelopment Analysis for efficiency assessment of state universities and selected faculties in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Wijesundara, W. M. T. H.; Prabodanie, R. A. R.
Efficiency of public universities is a widely discussed concern which is of significant importance to the well-being and economic prosperity of a developing nation. It is a key performance indicator of an education system which needs to be monitored and improved continuously. Although the efficiency of universities has been widely studied in some countries, no efficiency comparison research has been conducted in the Sri Lankan context. The main objective of this study was to measure the relative efficiencies of the state universities in Sri Lanka from 2017 to 2019 using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Since the universities have different compositions of faculties, the relative efficiencies of Science, Medical and Engineering faculties were separately evaluated. The input variables considered in the DEA models were annual expenditure, academic staff and non-academic staff. The output variables used were graduate output, total enrolments, number of publications in indexed journals, and Webometric ranking. The input- oriented variable returns to scale option in DEA was used, assuming that the inputs can be controlled. A freely available Excel add-in named DEA Solver was used in the analysis. The results of the overall efficiency comparison showed that eight out of fifteen state universities were constantly performing efficiently from 2017 to 2019 while two universities were constantly inefficient during the same period. Overall, 73% of the universities were efficient. The average efficiency scores across all universities from 2017 to 2019 were 0.9681, 0.9707 and 0.9409 respectively. Average efficiency scores of Science faculties for the same period were 0.8127, 0.7928 and 0.8053 respectively. Medical faculty comparison indicated efficiency scores as 0.742, 0.9332 and 0.8126 respectively from 2017 to 2019 while it was 0.9473, 0.9477 and 1 respectively for Engineering faculty comparison. Over the total period, the larger number of non-academic staff has been the main reason for the inefficiency of universities, and the results suggest that it should be reduced in a range from 0.7% to 40%. The number of efficient Science faculties was decreasing from 2017 to 2019. Efficiency comparison of engineering faculties alone indicated that most of them (83%) were efficient whereas only 54% of the medical faculties were efficient according to the comparison. The outcomes of this study are thoroughly based on an analysis performed using the DEA method with a selected set of variables, and owing to the limitations in DEA method, variables and data, the results may not reflect the actual efficiency levels of the universities. However, the study provides an understanding of some inequities in resource allocation and/or utilization among public universities.
Human in the loop design for intelligent interactive systems: A systematic review
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Arambepola, N.; Munasinghe, L.
It is undeniable that modern computers are incredibly fast and accurate. However, computers cannot ‘think’ (act intelligently) as humans unless it is trained to learn from the past knowledge. Despite their intelligence, humans are comparatively slow in computational tasks. However, the combination of the computational capacity of computers and human intelligence could produce powerful systems beyond the imagination. This concept is called Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) where both human and machine intelligence support the creation of Machine Learning (ML) models. HITL design is an emerging technology which is used in many domains such as autonomous vehicle technology, health systems and interactive system implementations. In this research, we systematically reviewed past research of HITL systems with the objectives of identifying key benefits and limitations of the HITL design. This systematic review was conducted by analyzing 68 research papers published in top-ranked journals and conferences during the past decade. Moreover, the papers were selected using keyword-based searching and references of the most cited HITL research papers. The PRISMA model was used to exclude irrelevant papers, and keyword-based clustering was used to identify the frequent keywords in the selected papers. Although the HITL design often improves the performance of intelligent interactive systems, there are certain drawbacks of this concept when compared to fully manual or fully automated systems such as making decisions with emotional bias and being unable to take actions when demanded. Thus, we comprehensively discuss the approaches proposed by the recent researchers to overcome some of the issues of the existing HITL designs.
Influence of the confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle and dietary behaviour of a group of Sri Lankans
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Jayawardana, S. A. S.; Wijethunga, W. M. P. H.; Munasinghe, M. A. R. N.; Munasinghe, M. A. S. L.; Perera, M. R. S.
Travel restrictions, lockdowns, isolations and quarantine processes were implemented to reduce the spread of the COVID-19. These protective measures have altered the lifestyles and eating habits of people around the world. This study analysed the lifestyle and dietary behaviour of a group of Sri Lankans during a critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sinhala and English versions of online pre-tested questionnaires were disseminated following the snowball sampling method. Data were collected from 23rd of May 2021 to 14th of June 2021 and statistically analysed. A total of 524 respondents answered the questionnaire and the majority (59.7%) were females. The respondents varied in age from 16 to 85 years and the majority (82.1%) belonged to the age range of 21 to 35 years. The most females were concerned about their diet and experienced altered appetite. Most of the respondents in the age group of 16 to 20 years experienced a higher appetite while the majority among other age groups observed no changes. More than half of the respondents (54.6%) stated that they do not consume their main meals at the same time every day. Most respondents (54.4%) reported a stable body weight. The weight changes were associated with the modifications in appetite (P < 0.05) and the number of times they felt hungry in a day (P < 0.05). Most of the respondents decreased bread (44.8%) and savoury bakery product (58%) consumption and it can be considered as a positive effect of the COVID-19 confinement. Interestingly, most of the respondents have stated that they increasingly consumed hot beverages (54.8%) and reduced the consumption of frozen and cold food (61.8%). Most of the respondents increasingly consumed homemade food (63.9%) and tried out new recipes (55.5%) while most reduced ordering of prepared food (59%). Among daily routine variations, most of the respondents slept longer (54%) and used mobile phones more (73.1%). Most respondents spent more time with family members (67.4%) and a considerable percentage of the respondents increasingly engaged in home gardening (26.3%) and reading books (31.7%), which can be considered as positive effects of the confinement. However, the engagement in physical exercises was low (51.7%). On mental health, 35.7% of the respondents experienced increased stress levels while 26.3% experienced a reduction. Among the respondents, 27.7% experienced increased anxiety and 27.9% observed reduced depressed moods. Interestingly, most of the respondents (39.9%) felt happier and more peaceful. More than half of the respondents (65%) experienced altered sleeping patterns during the confinement. More than half of the respondents (57.4%) had daytime naps. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) among the age groups regarding the time of sleep. Most of the respondents within the 16 to 35 years age group went to sleep later than usual and most respondents above 46 years of age slept at the same time as before. In conclusion, this study revealed alterations in daily routine, physical exercises, engagement in recreational activities, mental health, sleeping pattern, appetite, body weight and food consumption pattern of a group of Sri Lankans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Text and non-text classification from doctor writing prescription images
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Subasinghe, M.; Ramanan, M.
The classification of text and non-text block is an important problem in document analysis. This paper focuses on text and non-text classification, which plays a major role in the consequent processes of Optical Character Recognition (OCR). The system consists of binarization using Otsu’s method, noise removal using median filter, skew detection and correction using Radon transform, segmentation, feature extraction and text/non-text classification. The proposed method for text and non-text classification is a combination of two techniques: decision rule with density features and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) with Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features. The text and non-text classification is performed by segmenting the medical prescription image into blocks using a run-length smearing algorithm and projection techniques. Moreover, the classification is performed by using binary SVMs with HOG features and a decision rule by density feature. Experiments have been carried out with a dataset of 50 medical prescription images and achieved classification rates of 92.47% using a decision rule by density feature and SVM with HOG features.
Europium-doped calcium fluoride nanoparticles coated with melanocortin stimulating hormone-4 for potential biomedical imaging
(2021) Silva, C. R. De; Fratarcangeli, M.; Rathbone, M. R.; Hendren, S.
Lanthanide-based nanomaterials have promising applications including high throughput drug screening, bio-analytical sensing, and biomedical imaging. Among many lanthanide-based nanomaterials, europium (III) ions are of particular interest in biological assays due to their long luminescent lifetimes, limited photobleaching, monochromatic emission at 614 nm, and large Stokes shifts. Compared to well-known lanthanide-doped matrices such as yttrium fluoride and lanthanum fluoride, calcium fluoride matrix has shown to have promise as an imaging agent due to their greater luminescent efficiency and high biocompatibility. This work focuses on synthesizing novel europium-based nanomaterials and functionalization of the surface of the nanoparticles with a melanocortin stimulating hormone (MSH-4) peptide targeting human cells expressing human melanocortin receptors (hMCRs). A microwave-based synthetic method was optimized to prepare europium-doped calcium fluoride nanoparticles with a controlled size distribution in the 100-120 nm range. The optimized parameters include a pH of 6, reaction time of 30 minutes at a microwave power of 100W. Control over size distribution of the nanoparticles was achieved by adjusting the initial reactant ratios. The nanoparticles were characterized by using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), luminescent spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The melanocortin stimulating hormone (MSH-4) peptide was synthesized using the standard solid phase peptide synthesis method and characterized using LCMS and was determined to be 67% pure. The europium-based nanoparticles were functionalized with the MSH-4 peptide which is an agonist for hMCRs. Further research will be carried out to investigate the potential of using peptide functionalized nanoparticles for biomedical imaging.
In vitro anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of Paspanguwa decoction and its constituents
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Madushani, H. M. R.; Kadigamuwa, C. C.
The Paspanguwa herbal formulation is commonly consumed as a traditional medicine in Sri Lanka. Paspanguwa consists of five ingredients, namely the rhizome of Zingiber officinale (Inguru), leaves and stem of Hedyotis corymbosa (Pathpadagam), dried berries of Solanum xanthocarpum (Katuwalbatu), dried stem of Coscinium fenestratum (Venivalgata), and dried seeds of Coriandrum sativum (Koththamalli). The importance and objective of this study was to prove the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of traditionally used decotion, Paspanguwa claimed to have. In the present study, water extracts of the individual ingredient and the Paspanguwa decoction were screened for their total soluble phenolic content (TPC), total soluble flavonoid content (TFC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, and their ability to inhibit protein denaturation (anti-inflammatory activity). The highest and the lowest TPC was seen in Coriander and ginger as 12.76 ± 1.00 and 7.89 ± 0.86 mg Gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. The highest and the lowest TFC was seen in Katuwalbatu and Pathpadagam as 778.19 ± 1.40 and 282.14 ± 1.49 µg Catechin equivalent/g of dry weight, respectively. The lowest and the highest IC50 values for the DPPH assay was seen in Paspanguwa decoction and Katuwalbatu as 253.4 ± 8.2 and 609.7 ± 5.6 µg/mL, respectively, while the standard ascorbic acid showed 111.0 ± 6.1 µg/mL. The highest and lowest reducing power percentages were seen in Paspanguwa decoction and coriander as 94.74 ± 1.31 and 22.95 ± 0.96 while the standard ascorbic acid showed 109.89 ± 0.96. The ability to inhibit protein denaturation varied in the order of: Acetylsalicylic acid (standard) > Paspanguwa decoction > ginger > coriander > Venivalgata > Katuwalbatu > Pathpadagam at all the three concentrations (625, 1250, and 2500 µg/mL). These results suggest that Paspanguwa water extract is a good source of antioxidants with TFC and TPC with a higher ability to inhibit protein denaturation. Our findings corroborate with the previous in vitro studies of the antioxidant activity of Paspanguwa. However, our study is the first to reveal the anti-inflammatory action, total flavonoid content, and reducing power of the Paspanguwa herbal formula. Further, this study validated the use of Paspanguwa as a good source of antioxidants together with anti-inflammatory activity in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.
Herbicidal properties of invasive alien plants Dillenia suffruticosa and Prosopis juliflora against Brassica juncea and Pennisetum polystachion
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Kaushalya, W. D. D.; Bandara, N. C.; Damunupola, J. W.; Madawala, H. M. S. P.; Jayasuriya, K. M. G. G.; Wijesundara, D. S. A.; Bandara, B. M. R.
Synthetic pesticides can cause deleterious effects on human health and the environment. The rapid spread of invasive alien plants (IAPs) threatens biodiversity and the natural and semi-natural ecosystems. A strategy to address these problems is to develop eco-friendly plant-based pesticides from IAPs. In this study, the two IAPs, Dillenia suffruticosa (Griff.) Martelli. and Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC., were evaluated for their herbicidal properties against Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. (Bj) and Pennisetum polystachion (L.) Schult. (Pp). The dry leaf powders of IAPs, were separately extracted into dichloromethane-methanol (1:1) using a bottle extractor. The leaf powders and the concentrated leaf extracts were assayed for their inhibitory effects on seed germination and early seedling growth (shoot length, root length and biomass) of Bj and Pp using a Petri dish assay; 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) and glufosinate were used as positive controls and distilled water and aqueous dimethyl sulfoxide as negative controls. Each treatment was done on 25 seeds in four replicates, in three trials. The IC50 values of the leaf powders and extracts expressed in equivalent amount of leaf powder for the inhibition of seed germination of Bj and Pp were as follows: 3.70 ± 0.38 and 3.10 ± 0.52 mg cm-2 (D. suffruticosa leaf powder against Bj and Pp, respectively); 1.55 ± 0.05 and 0.23 ± 0.06 mg cm-2 (P. juliflora leaf powder against Bj and Pp, respectively); 1.47 ± 0.07 mg cm-2 (D. suffruticosa leaf extract against Bj); 1.19 ± 0.53 mg cm-2 (P. juliflora leaf extract against Bj). Both IAPs were more effective on Pp than Bj (ANOVA, F = 70, p < 0.001). According to the results of the Kruskal- Wallis test, the leaf powders of P. juliflora (at 3.52 mg cm-2, 2 = 25.7, p < 0.001) and D. suffruticosa (at 17.62 mg cm-2, 2 = 24.3, p < 0.001) and the leaf extracts of P. juliflora (at 5.56 mg cm-2, 2 = 26.2, p < 0.001) and D. suffruticosa (at 8.27 mg cm-2, 2 = 25.6, p < 0.001) displayed more potent inhibitory effects on seed germination than glufosinate (at 4.4 µg cm-2) and MCPA (at 10.6 µg cm-2). Growth parameters of Bj and Pp decreased with increasing concentrations of leaf powders and extracts of IAPs (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.05). The leaves of P. juliflora and D. suffruticosa can be exploited to develop eco-friendly herbicides.
Time series forecasting of farm gate prices of fresh coconuts in three major coconut growing areas of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Perera, D. H. N.; Waidyarathne, K. P.; Jayasundara, D. D. M.; Hewaarachchi, A. P.
Coconut is a perennial crop with important food value and other endless uses for human beings. Hence, this has led to the emergence of a diversified set of industrial activities. All over the world, Sri Lanka is the fourth largest coconut producing country. The major part of Sri Lanka's coconut production comes from the Coconut Triangle, which consists of Puttalam, Kurunegala and Gampaha districts. Forecasting coconut prices can provide critical and useful information to coconut growers making production and facing real situations and uncertainties of the coconut industry. The objective of this study is to build accurate univariate or multivariate time series models to forecast the farm gate prices of fresh coconut in three major coconut growing areas (Puttalam, Kurunegala, and Gampaha) of Sri Lanka. This study evaluated the times series data on monthly farm gate prices of fresh coconut in the selected districts from January 2009 to December 2019.This paper examines three time series modelling approaches, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Generalized Auto Regressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and Vector Error Correction (VEC) model. Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) were used to evaluate the performance of fitted models. As the univariate time series approach, ARIMA (1,1,5) and ARIMA (2,1,2) were identified as the better models for forecasting prices of Puttalam and Gampaha based on Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) where RMSE (5.83,5.77) and MAPE (12.60,10.99) respectively. In contrast to the other two districts, Kurunegala showed a non-constant variance with the time, hence GARCH model approach was tested for the particular data series. It was found that all model coefficients were not significant in the GARCH model thus univariate models were not applicable for Kurunegala District. Therefore, multivariate time series model was carried out to find a suitable model. First, the Johansen co-integration test was applied and the results proved that there were two co-integration equations at 5% level of significance. As there were significant cointegration detected between series, VECM was applied in order to evaluate the short run properties of the cointegrated series. According to the lag selection criteria, lag 7 was selected as the optimum lag value. Considering the VEC models, the RMSE and MAPE in Puttalam, Kurunegala and Gampaha were 6.30,5.41,5.85 and 12.81,10.76,11.14 respectively. Results revealed that VECM approach worked well for forecasting Kurunegala price series. Even with long-term equilibrium relationship exists between series, VECM approach was less accurate in defining the relationship in comparison to ARIMA models for Puttalam and Gampaha price series. Therefore, that the study recommends the ARIMA models as the appropriate models to forecast the monthly farm gate prices of fresh coconut in Gampaha and Puttalam districts.
An approximate solution to Lane-Emden equation of the polytrophic index three by using Differential Transform Method
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Aththanayaka, A. M. S. K.; Wimaladharma, N. A. S. N.
Lane-Emden equation is a second order dimensionless non-linear ordinary differential equation which can be used to describe internal structure of a star, the thermal behaviour of a spherical cloud of gas, isothermal gas spheres etc. Self-gravitating spheres of plasma, such as stars, can also be described approximately by using these equations. Lane-Emden equation was solved by using Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM), Homotopy Analysis Method for some values of polytrophic index n. There are exact, analytical solutions for Lane-Emden equation in particular values n = 0, 1, 5. Since its non-linearity, the exact solutions cannot be found easily. Differential Transform Method (DTM) is an iterative method with a Taylor series solution gives good approximation in very small region. DTM can be applied for both linear and nonlinear nth derivative functions. In this research, a numerical solution to Lane-Emden equation with n = 3 has been found by using Differential Transform Method. To increase the range of convergence of the solution, the Pade approximation has been applied. Pade approximation is a ratio of two McLaurin’s expansion of the polynomials. The obtained solution for Lane-Emden equation has been compared with the solutions obtained by using the Fourth Order Runga-Kutta (RK4) method, ODE45 and Forward Euler method, which are effective and accurate methods for solving differential equations. The Einstein-Maxwell equations for a static spherical distribution of matter which is called Electrically Counterpoised Dust (ECD) under gravitational attraction and electrical repulsion can be simplified to the Lane-Emden equation when n = 3. It has been shown that the mass of a sphere of electrically counterpoised dust is an increasing function of its radius and it has a maximum value. Since the solution obtained gives us a physically acceptable result, it can be justified that the obtained solution using DTM is acceptable and gives better approximate solution with the form of a polynomial for linear and nonlinear differential equations.
The women’s level of awareness regarding shoulder surfing attacks with reference to harassments occur in public transportation
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Samarasinghe, T.D.; Sellahewa, W.N; Samarasinghe, N.K
Public transportation is a widely used convenient mode of transport in Sri Lanka. People at all levels of society use this mode of transportation to achieve their daily commute. With the demand for public transport, the occurrence of incidents catering to violence concerning women using this service has also increased significantly. Therefore, revitalizing the safety of women using public transportation has become a major obstacle. Although this violence is classified as physical and psychological abuse, with the advancement and the misuse of technology, the amount of violence that women face has considerably increased. These technological misleads have helped to put a different texture to the ways of harassment. The objective of this study is to examine the level of women’s awareness about shoulder surfing attacks that transpires to them while using public transportation. Preliminary data was gathered by distributing a well-structured google survey consisting of open and close-ended questions. Convenience sampling technique was used to facilitate sample selection as the questionnaire was dispersed amongst 110 women who belonged to age groups from under age of 20 to over 60. Subsequently, 100 satisfactory responses were accumulated. The data which gathered from over 60 category had to be emitted due to the inaccurate and beleaguered answers which were provided. This issue can be described as a limitation in terms of the data collection technique. Based on the findings, Sri Lankan women (55% from the sample) who consume public transportation are unaware of shoulder surfing attacks and have null comprehension to state whether they have been a victim of this attack. Only 45% of respondents stated that they had a clear understanding that they have experienced or are aware of shoulder surfing attacks. They have encountered Password breaching, social media accounts hacking, identity theft and stealing public photos as post shoulder surfing attacks. Many respondents indicated that they have no acquaintance as to where to report if an incident similar to shoulder surfing occurred. The respondents in use numerous actions to avoid the aforementioned post shoulder surfing attacks such as deactivating the social media accounts, deleting publicly post photographs. The “today” of women has changed drastically due to the rapid transformation and spread of technology which is intertwined with timely commutes. Technology and social media have become an integral part of life. To avoid shoulder surfing attacks the research recommends using biometric security systems such as fingerprint scanners and face detection technologies to provide a quick, easy, and secure way to access accounts without revealing passwords. Additionally recommends conducting workshops to educate women about shoulder surfing, how to identify attacks and respond to them. The outcome of workshops should be taken into consideration when formulating strategies to prevent and intervene in technological harassment which women face while accessing social media in public transportation. Nurture social engineering awareness, directing women to use technology and public transportation services safely. Technological Violence and harassment aiming at women who use public transportation must be engaged solemnly stopped by the authorities.
Infestation and emergence of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) on two varieties of Mangifera indica from selected locations in the wet and dry zones of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Wijekoon, W. M. C. D.; Ganehiarachchi, G. A. S. M.; Wegiriya, H. C. E.; Vidanage, S. P.
Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel, (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the most serious fruit pests in Sri Lanka. There has been a dearth of documented records of infestation and damages of fruit flies on commercially important fruit varieties in the country. Hence, the present study aims to estimate the percentages of infestations and emergence of B. dorsalis on two commercially important mango varieties grown in the wet zone and dry zone in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted from September 2020 to February 2021 in Ratnapura and Embilipitiya. Ratnapura was selected as the study site in the wet zone and Embilipitiya was selected as the study site in the dry zone. In each site, two sub sampling sites were selected. Twenty ripened fruits (per variety) of Willard (Wld) and Karutha kolomban (Kc) were collected randomly from selected trees. Sampling was done once a month and fruits which have already fallen to the ground were collected. Collected fruits were observed for signs of fruit fly infestations by examining fresh oviposition marks visually using a hand lens. Fruits with confirmed infestations were placed in plastic containers with pre- sterilized sand and muslin cloth cover (storing four fruits; same variety, ≈ weight, temperature: 250 C, RH: 75-85 %) until the emergence of adults. After fifteen days, the average number of adults that emerged per fruit per location was calculated. Two indices; percentage infestations and adult fly emergence were calculated. Mean weight (g) (mean ± SE) of mango fruits used for the study were (127.47 ± 9.05) g and (203.65 ± 9.5) g for Wld and Kc respectively. The percentages of average infestation were 35% for Wld in dry zone and 30% in wet zone, and for Kc, 24% in dry zone and 20% in wet zone. For both varieties, comparatively high percentage infestations recorded from the dry zone site than that of the wet zone site (p> 0.05). The slightly high infestations for both Wld and Kc observed from dry zone site were in October 2020 and February in 2021 (during the season). The average number of adults that emerged per variety was (3.33 ±0.73) for Wld and (3.83 ±0.93) for Kc. The average adult emergence significantly varied between dry zone (4.25± 1.0) and wet zone (2.92±0.57) sites (p< 0.05). This study provides baseline information of infestation and emergence of B. dorsalis adults on two commercially important mango varieties in Sri Lanka.
Perceptions of urban residents on the cultural and ecological roles of residential gardens in Gampaha district, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Subashini, J. K. W. N.; Yakandawala, K.; Minor, E. S.
Urban residential gardens provide recreational, socio cultural and environmental services to urban communities. However, the degree to which the urban residents recognize, and value of these services is unclear where a complex assortment of interacting socio-economic factors govern the perceptions of urban residents towards the role of residential gardens. Due to the limited attention on urban residential landscapes in Sri Lanka, the present study was conducted targeting the urban community in the Gampaha Divisional Secretariat (DS) to evaluate the perceptions towards cultural, environmental and conservation values of the residential gardens. A pre-tested, interviewer-administrated questionnaire was used to collect the socio-economic details of 50 randomly selected households located within the 2 km radius of the city center of the Gampaha DS. Perceptions on environmental, cultural and the conservation services of residential gardens were evaluated based on a 5-point Likert scale. The Chi-square test of association was used to identify the significant socio-economic factors that influence the perceptions of the respondents. The majority of the respondents were 51-65 years old (41.7%), followed by >65 years (25%) and 36–50 years old (25%). About 45.8% of the respondents had completed a basic degree qualification, while 41.7% had completed Advanced Level qualification. Retired household heads dominated the sample (37.5%), followed by those occupied in the private sector (29.2%). The highest fraction (32%) of the respondents received a monthly income ranging from USD 400 – USD 600. Stress release/health benefits, pollution control, and aesthetic value of plants/flowers, were ranked as the highest benefits of residential gardens, with mean scores of 4.90, 4.84 and 4.82, respectively. The majority of respondents (84%) strongly agreed with the statement that residential gardens can connect people with nature (Mean Score=4.82). Among the respondents, 24% had a highly positive attitude on the importance of residential gardens as entities of ecosystem conservation, while 34% of the respondents showed a neutral attitude. According to the Chi-square test, income, age, education and employment were significantly associated with the attitudes of the respondents towards the socio cultural services of residential gardens. Meanwhile, only the education was significantly associated with attitudes on the conservation values of residential gardens (p<0.05). The results reflect the desire of urban dwellers to experience a pleasant and fresh natural environment even in the middle of an urban lifestyle. Since people tend to feel the nature in the direct and the closest living environment in their everyday lives, residential gardens should be considered as the primary unit of concern in urban green space planning. Hence, understanding people’s perceptions of gardens could be help in designing and improving the urban green spaces.
Assessing knowledge, attitude and practices towards household e-waste management: A case study of householders in Gampaha district, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Athukorala, A. S. T.; Jothirathne, P. A. A. U.
This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of householders towards e-waste management in Gampaha District. Due to the current economic status and high rate of urbanization, Gampaha District was selected to study and it was based on a quantitative approach. Primary data were collected through pre-tested a structured questionnaire. Then, 400 questionnaires were distributed among households and the response rate was 85%. Mobile phones, desktop computers, laptops, cameras, and other electronic appliances were the types of e-waste considered in this study. The analysis demonstrated that 71.1% of respondents were aware of e-waste although 51.3% did not receive proper education on e-waste. 93.2% of the participants were not aware of government rules and regulations on e-waste and 81.4% did not know the e- waste collection centers in their area. 96.2% of householders tend to change their electronic devices and move into new devices due to damages. 22% of householders store their waste electronic and electrical equipment at home and the rest of the people dispose of them by exchanging them for new devices (15%), dumping (10%), sell to recyclers (17%), donate (5%), sell to individuals (16%), discard with household waste (7%) and burning (8%). Furthermore, the knowledge score of the participants was calculated using the eight questions about knowledge, the score of zero was given for incorrect answers and one was given for correct answers. Hence, the maximum Knowledge score was eight. A score less than 3 was considered poor, 3-5 moderate and above 6 was good. Results revealed that 48.38% of the respondents have good knowledge about e-waste. “The continuous increase in e-waste is a problem for Sri Lanka”, “Everyone is responsible for the e-waste at their home”, “I refrain from buying new device as long as they can use the old one”, “They need to be aware of the materials in the electronics they use”, “I would like to provide e-waste to the equipment manufacturer free of charge for eco-friendly recycling” and “If the cost of recycling is included in the cost of production, I would like to pay more for the equipment” were the six questions used to evaluate the attitude of the householders towards e- waste management and those were considered as indicators to assess attitude. The attitude score was assessed by applying a four-level Likert scale (strongly disagree-disagree-agree-strongly agree) such that the minimum score was 4 and the maximum score was 24. The average of an individual’s total score is considered for the categorization of the attitude level. It disclosed the necessity to change the attitudes of the household members over the e-waste management activities. Hence, the findings provide valuable insights for the government and for the responsible authorities on the requirement of installing effective steps to promote knowledge and attitude level of the citizen about the household e-waste management activities and socio- demographic based promotional and training activities will be more productive. Furthermore, results indicate that respondents dispose their e-waste using unsustainable practices and hence cause damages to the environment.
Evaluation of nutritional composition of peel and seeds of Flacourtia indica fruit
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Jayasinghe, J. M. H. M.; Weerasooriya, M. K. B.
Flacourtia indica is an endangered plant species with high medicinal value. The fruit has been reported as a valuable source of natural products that can treat various diseases and functional disorders. It is commonly called Ramontchi, Governor’s plum, Batoko plum, Madagascar plum and Indian plum. In Sri Lanka, it is called “Uguressa”. The nutritional content of non-edible portion (peel and seeds) is so far not reported. Hence, analysing the nutritional composition of this non-edible portion is targeted in the current study. We determined moisture, ash, lipid, fibre, protein, carbohydrate and calorie contents of peel and seeds. The results showed that the percentage of moisture, lipid, ash, fibre, protein, and carbohydrate contents of the peel powder were, 15.20±0.267, 9.277±0.165, 13.93±0.488, 9.520±0.0333, 22.41±0.53 and 29.66±0.665 respectively. The calorie value of peel was 291.8 kcal/100g.The percentage of moisture, lipid, ash, fibre, protein, and carbohydrate contents of the seed powder were 8.890±0.200, 0.6517±0.0217, 2.567±0.0246, 50.96±0.484, 17.54±0.309, and 19.39±0.520 respectively. The calorie value of seeds was 153.6 kcal/100g. Findings indicated that peel contains a higher percentage of moisture, lipid, ash, protein, and carbohydrate content than the seeds. Lipid content is very less in the seeds. Due to the presence of a significant amount of carbohydrates in fruit peels, it can be utilized as a carbohydrate source. The percentage of crude fibre content is very much higher in seeds than peel. Thus, F. indica seeds can be considered a good source of dietary fibre. Due to high protein content, both peel and seeds can be recommended for value-added food supplements with high protein content. The results of the statistical analysis showed that there is a significant difference (p <0.05) among the total moisture content (p=0.000), lipid content (p=0.000), ash content (p=0.000), crude fibre content (p=0.000), crude protein content (p=0.01) and carbohydrate content (p=0.000) in seed and peel powder. These findings indicate that, Flacourtia indica seeds and peel exhibit the potential to be developed as a functional food.
In vitro antidiabetic activity of fractionated extracts of Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Wasana, K. G. P.; Attanayake, A. P.; Jayasinghe, J. M. S.; Weeraratna, T. P.; Jayatilaka, K. A. P. W.
The Paspanguwa herbal formulation is commonly consumed as a traditional medicine in Sri Lanka. Paspanguwa consists of five ingredients, namely the rhizome of Zingiber officinale (Inguru), leaves and stem of Hedyotis corymbosa (Pathpadagam), dried berries of Solanum xanthocarpum (Katuwalbatu), dried stem of Coscinium fenestratum (Venivalgata), and dried seeds of Coriandrum sativum (Koththamalli). The importance and objective of this study was to prove the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of traditionally used decotion, Paspanguwa claimed to have. In the present study, water extracts of the individual ingredient and the Paspanguwa decoction were screened for their total soluble phenolic content (TPC), total soluble flavonoid content (TFC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, and their ability to inhibit protein denaturation (anti-inflammatory activity). The highest and the lowest TPC was seen in Coriander and ginger as 12.76 ± 1.00 and 7.89 ± 0.86 mg Gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. The highest and the lowest TFC was seen in Katuwalbatu and Pathpadagam as 778.19 ± 1.40 and 282.14 ± 1.49 µg Catechin equivalent/g of dry weight, respectively. The lowest and the highest IC50 values for the DPPH assay was seen in Paspanguwa decoction and Katuwalbatu as 253.4 ± 8.2 and 609.7 ± 5.6 µg/mL, respectively, while the standard ascorbic acid showed 111.0 ± 6.1 µg/mL. The highest and lowest reducing power percentages were seen in Paspanguwa decoction and coriander as 94.74 ± 1.31 and 22.95 ± 0.96 while the standard ascorbic acid showed 109.89 ± 0.96. The ability to inhibit protein denaturation varied in the order of: Acetylsalicylic acid (standard) > Paspanguwa decoction > ginger > coriander > Venivalgata > Katuwalbatu > Pathpadagam at all the three concentrations (625, 1250, and 2500 µg/mL). These results suggest that Paspanguwa water extract is a good source of antioxidants with TFC and TPC with a higher ability to inhibit protein denaturation. Our findings corroborate with the previous in vitro studies of the antioxidant activity of Paspanguwa. However, our study is the first to reveal the anti-inflammatory action, total flavonoid content, and reducing power of the Paspanguwa herbal formula. Further, this study validated the use of Paspanguwa as a good source of antioxidants together with anti-inflammatory activity in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.
Atmospheric chemical composition of bulk precipitation of the vicinity of oil refinery in Sapugaskanda, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Karunarathna, M. M. S. T.; Deeyamulla, M. P.; Kannangara, A. T.
Rainwater quality is critical because it can be used to forecast air quality. The aim of the current study was to investigate the chemical characteristics of bulk precipitation in Kelaniya, Sapugaskanda, and Siyambalape, an area close to an oil refinery in Gampaha District, one of Sri Lanka's most densely populated and urbanized districts. Wet precipitation samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, F-, Cl-, NO3-, SO42-, Pb, Cu, Mn, Al, Zn, Ni, Cr, Cd, and Fe for a total of 18 samples between 2020 July and 2020 October. The results obtained were compared with 6 samples taken from a background area situated in Kidelpitiya, Meegoda where the anthropogenic influence is minimum. Volume-weighted average concentrations of the major ionic species present in precipitation samples were in the order of F−< K+< NO3−< Mg2+< Cl−< SO42−< Ca2+< Na+. Neutralization of the acidic species would take place due to the presence of MgCO3 and CaCO3. Other than the anthropogenic sources natural sources were also considered. When considering a marine contribution, SO42−/Na+, Ca2+/Na+, and Mg2+/Na+ ratios are higher than the reference value suggesting that contribution of sources be possible other than marine. When considering a soil contribution, SO42−/Ca2+, NO3−/Ca2+, Na+/Ca2+, and Cl- /Ca2+ ratios are higher than the reference value suggesting that contribution of sources be possible other than soil. It was also found that Al is the most predominant trace element in the area while Fe is the least (All are in metallic forms not in the ionic forms). Investigation of correlation between major ionic species and elements (Ca2+, SO42-, Al, Cu, Zn, and NO3-) in the wet precipitation samples identified probable anthropogenic sources such as heavy traffic, biomass burning, large-scale constructions, and waste incineration. The highest correlation between Na+ and Cl- is probably due to marine contribution. A comparison between the background and the study area was carried out to identify the difference between the chemical compositions of the atmosphere during the given period suggesting that the area has a higher chemical composition of the species interested rather than the background. Also, this study reveals the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the reduction of the chemical composition of such species of the atmosphere in the area of interest. This study reveals that the chemical composition in the atmosphere is strongly dependent on both anthropogenic and natural phenomena around the area of study.